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TP 871 
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Copy 1 



THE 


; MAREZZO MARBLES. 


( 




.BY 


» 


j GEORGE DAVEY, PH. D„ F.Z.S. 

\ 


































4 



The United States Marezzo Marble Works 






























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































THE 


MAREZZO MARBLES. 


BY 


V 

GEORGE DAVEY, PH. D„ F. Z. S. 

'/ 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by Nesbitt & Co., in the Office 

of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



NrU) YorU : . J 

GEORGE F. NESBITT & CO., PRINTERS, 

COIt. I’EAltL AND PINE 8TKF.KTS. 


1 S78. 














THE 


MAREZZO MARBLES. 


L 

Among all kinds of stones, whether for building or ar¬ 
tistic purposes, marble has always maintained the first rank. 
It is the most beautiful and durable. No stone can equal 
it in elegance and beauty of appearance, or in durability, 
either for statues, obelisks, monuments, &c., or for temples, 
churches, and other buildings. 

The ancients were well aware of its intrinsic merits. Ho¬ 
mer mentions it in the “Iliad,” and the “Odyssey,” and 
quarries were worked in Greece in very ancient times. 
With the progress of art and civilization, marble came into 
more general use. Sculptors used it for their works of art 
—architects for public and private buildings. The temple 
of Apollo, the temple of Minerva, the Parthenon, the Hip¬ 
podrome, and others, of which the ruins still fill us with 
wonder and admiration, were built of marble. For build¬ 
ing purposes, the Attic marble, found in the mountain- 
chain of Pentolicus, in Attica, was generally employed ; 
whilst the somewhat less hard Parian marble, named after 
the island Paros, where it was found, was preferred for 
statues and other works of art: such, for instance, as the 
Venus de Medicis. They were also acquainted with the 
Carrara marble of Italy, now largely used for objects of 
sculpture. Of this marble are the Apollo Belvidere, and 
the modern master-pieces of Canova and Thorwaldsen. 




2 


The Romans who, in all their buildings, combined ele¬ 
gance and vastness of design with the greatest durability, 
adopted the use of marble from the Greeks. Its use soon 
became general for public as well as private buildings, and 
the rich patricians vied with one another in the embellish 
merit of their palaces and houses with the richest marbles 
they could obtain. At first, the principal supply was drawn 
from Greece, but the source soon became inadequate, and 
they began, to lay the whole then known world under con¬ 
tribution to furnish them with the rarest, richest, and best- 
marked kinds. Everywhere new quarries were discovered 
and opened. Italy, France, Spain, the coast of Africa, in 
short, all countries under their sway and possessing mar¬ 
bles, furnished their quota toward the embellishment of 
their world-town, Rome. Quarries entirely lost and forgot¬ 
ten, and only recently re-discovered, are found to have 
been worked by the Romans. From the ruins of ancient 
Rome, many kinds of marble, especially of the colored sort, 
have been dug up, the quarries of which remain unknown 
up to the present day. Some of the finest specimens of 
these marbres antiques are supposed to have come from the 
coast of Africa. 

Towards the middle ages and more modern times, the 
use of marble for building purposes has materially decreased; 
and although we might mention numerous edifices which 
have been built of marble, such as the Dome of Milan, the 
Cathedrals of Genoa and Pisa, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, 
and, more recently, the Walhalla, near Ratisbonne, and the 
Church of Santa Croce at Florence, and many others, besides 
being used, especially in France and Italy, for the interior 
of whole palaces, as at Versailles, where all the state rooms 
are lined with variegated marble, its use is not at all in 
proportion to its beauty and durability as a building-stone; 
nor has its employment for monumental, ornamental, or 
useful purposes, kept pace with the progress of civilization, 


owing to a monopoly of the supply and its consequent high 
price. 

It is true that in articles for domestic purposes, such as 
chimney-pieces, vases, furniture, ornamental paving, &c., 
the demand has of late years somewhat increased; notably 
in France, where the manufacture of articles of that descrip¬ 
tion is very extensive, as the French have always shown a 
great preference for the use of marble. England, however, 
falls short in this respect. As a building-stone the use of 
marble is almost nil , and yet, we might employ an old 
dictum with a slight change, and say, “ Tell me the country 
which emplo} r s the most marble, and I will tell you the 
country which has the finest public buildings.” IIow far 
inferior in beauty and durability the common building-stone, 
not to mention the prepared artificial scagliola, and the now 
universally adopted substitute, “enamelled slate,” is to 
marble, is patent to all. We have only to point to our 
public edifices to be convinced of the rapid decay that is 
going on. It is only a few years since the public was 
startled by the announcement that the stone facings of our 
new Houses of Parliament showed signs of decay, whilst 
even more recently one of the great pinnacles broke off 
altogether, and fell with crushing force into the building. 
With good marble such would simply be impossible. Im¬ 
pervious to atmospheric influences, buildings erected by the 
ancients have withstood the ravages of centuries; and their 
marble walls, unscathed as the day when they were built, 
still proudly point to the period of their past grandeur. 

The reasons why marble is not so much used for a build¬ 
ing material as in ancient times we shall now seek to 
elucidate. 


4 


II. 

We must, at the outset, disclaim against any intention 
of making invidious remarks that architects and builders 
do not make a more extensive use of so excellent a building 
material. No class of men can be better aware of the 
beauty and durability of marble, and no class of men, we 
should say, would be more willing to employ it. They are, 
however, met by an insurmountable difficulty —marble is 
scarce , and too dear. 

Let us first inquire into the reasons of its scarcity. 
Marble itself is not scarce, but good marble is. There is, 
perhaps, no stone so general or so constantly recurring in 
geological formations as marble. England is rich in marble- 
stones; so is France, Spain, Italy, Greece, and the whole 
coast of Africa bordering on the Mediterranean; but 
whereas the countries lying towards the south furnish a 
close, compact stone, beautiful in color and texture, those 
lying more northerly possess but an indifferent quality. 
This is an observation so constantly made by geologists and 
oractical marble-masters, as to have given rise to the dictum 

j. n i 

“ The further south the better the marble.” Belgium, rich 
in marble-quarries, furnishes but a very inferior quality of 
poor cold coloring. England does the same ; and although 
Devonshire, for instance, is rich in marble, it is difficult to 
obtain large blocks of a sufficient homogeneous nature to 
work them up into columns. In the north of France the 
same experience is made. Neither in richness and abund¬ 
ance, nor in solidity and compactness, nor in fine warm 
coloring, can the marbles of the countries we have named 
compare with those of more southerly regions. The south 
of France, of Spain, Italy, and Greece, and the whole Afri¬ 
can coast-line, furnish marbles by far superior in every re 


5 


spect; and these countries ought to be able to supply the 
whole world with the most useful and choicest varieties. 

But they do not. Every branch of mercantile industry 
has made gigantic strides in the last fifty years. Steam and 
electricity have opened inter-communications between the 
most distant countries, and afford facilities to commerce 
which have led to an unprecedented development of all en¬ 
terprises. Science has lent its aid. Dynamics have simpli¬ 
fied manual labor ; mineralogy and chemistry have rendered 
important services,—everything has progressed—except the 
working of marble. 

In the midst of. all the progress which we witness, a 
commerce which should occupy the first rank, because it 
combines all elements of success—abundance of material, 
facilities of transport, considerable demand, and hence high 
prices, has literally stood still. Marble is still as scarce as 
it was fifty years ago ; so much so, that in a country like 
England, it has, as a building-stone, fallen into almost entire 
disuse. And, for domestic and ornamental purposes, it is 
held at such prices as to exclude it from the many uses to 
which it might be profitably applied. 

The reason why the prices are so high will become clear 
as we proceed. 

Most quarries are owned and worked by private indivi¬ 
duals, and the dealers are cliqued together to produce a 
monopoly in the market. Very little progress has been 
made in working the quarries, and the result is an immense 
waste of the raw material by injudicious blasting, and the 
want of knowledge in the choice of blocks and colors. 
Machinery is but seldom employed to economise expensive 
manual labor. The owners, in many cases, lack the knowl¬ 
edge ; in most, the capital necessary for a proper develop¬ 
ment of their quarries. In consequence, the marble is sur¬ 
charged with a large amount of expenses, which, operated 
on by the dealers, increase the cost price; for few articles 


6 


of commerce have so many intermediate dealers as marble. 
The transport, too, of so heavy an article, is unusually ex¬ 
pensive. Most quarries lie far away from all public roads 
(those in the South of France are principally found in the 
departments adjoining the Pyrenees and Alps). New roads 
have to be constructed, in order to work them cheaply to 
any considerable extent, and to facilitate the removal of 
the debris. This necessitates the outlay of much capital, 
and, as w r e have seen above, there is a singular want of 
enterprise for so promising and well-paying a trade. 

From the foregoing remarks the reasons will become 
apparent why it is necessary to fix such high prices for 
marble wdien brought into the market—prices which virtu¬ 
ally exclude it from usage for common building purposes. 

To give the reader an idea wdiat prices marble commands 
in Paris, which was the principal market for marble in the 
world, we subjoin the following price-list of one of the 
largest marble-merchants in Paris : 


1 . 1 . 

Sarancolin Bereyd. 

.650 

frs. per cubic 

metre 

= £32 



(Or about 38 inches cube English.) 

2. 

‘ ‘ Imperial.... 

.1,000 

( t a 

i t 

40 

3. 

Laudoc. 

. 700 

a a 

i i 

28 

4. 

Rouge antique. 

.1,200 

it < t 

i i 

48 

5. 

Jaune de Sienne. 

.1,400 

n a 

( i 

56- 

6. 

Griotte rouge . 


a a 

it 

40 

7. 

Isabelle Pyrenes . 

. 1,000 

a a 

i t 

40 

8. 

Portor . 


a a 

i ( 

56 

9. 

Bleu Aspen . 

. 600 

a a 

i i 

24 

10. 

Campan melange . 

. 700 

a a 

i i 

28 

11. 

Rouge ranee . 

. 400 

a a 

i i 

16 

12. 

Bleu Tarquin . 


a <t 

i i 

24 

13. 

Vert morin . 

. 1,200 

a a 

i t 

48 

14. 

Breclie violette . 

. 1,800 

a a 

( i 

72 

15. 

Brocatelle d’Espagne .. . 

.1,400 

a a 

i i 

56 

These are the prices of 

rough marble in the block, 

deliv- 


ered in Paris. 

In spite of these prices, which must be termed very high, 
the consumption of marble in France, prior to the late 
destructive war, was enormous, and exceeded that of any 

















7 


other country; and it is now rapidly assuming its former 
immense proportion, leaving but little doubt that a very 
short time hence it will exceed all prior estimates; but 
enormous as it was, and is, it would undoubtedly be in¬ 
creased twofold and threefold if the marble could be de¬ 
livered at a cheaper rate. Paris is the chief mart; and also 
the principal seat of manufacture of all articles of marble, 
besides supplying England, Germany, Russia, the United 
States, &c. From the high taste existent for marble east¬ 
ward, England may now confidently look forward to a large 
trade with India, via the Suez Canal. 

One may judge to what extent marble is used in the 
country from the fact that France alone, although being it¬ 
self very rich in marble, and possessing immense quarries 
of a superior quality in the Southern Departments, imports 
every year from Italy alone about twelve millions of francs ; 
and yet, according to every authority, the marble trade is 
not as brisk as it will be e\ entually, and is capable of much 
larger development. 

England, on the other hand, poor in marble, and possess¬ 
ing but few quarries, and these only furnishing marble of 
an inferior kind, imports only £150,000 worth per annum. 
In 1867, according to the Custom-house returns, the imports 
were 10,263 tons of rough, and 70,717 cwts. of sawn, or 
otherwise manufactured marble, the value of the whole 
being £146,711. This would give an average price of over 
£10 10s. per ton, or about £32 per cubic metre; a very high 
average price, considering that the commoner sorts of for¬ 
eign (chiefly Italian) marble can be bought in blocks in the 
London market at from £16 to £19 per cubic metre. 

It requires little reflection upon the above figures and 
facts to convince every unbiassed mind that there is a large 
field for the development of this trade, both in England 
and in France, especially in Paris, where an immense quan¬ 
tity is certain to be required for the rebuilding of the palaces 


8 


and public buildings lately destroyed by fire, besides a vast 
sphere of usefulness in America, Russia, Germany, Belgium, 
Spain, Italy, Canada, India, Australia, and the South Amer¬ 
ican countries. There is always a large demand if only the 
marble can be supplied at such a price as to meet that de¬ 
mand. Every one prefers a marble decoration to one of 
paint, paper, or enamelled slate, or other artificial imitations; 
every one would also prefer the ornaments about the house 
of marble instead of stucco ; and who would not have the 
whole house and all public edifices built in this, the most 
elegant of all building materials, if it could be done at a 
cost not much exceeding that of common stone ? 

But the marble, as we have shown, is both scarce and 
too dear. 

Of late years, however, an important invention has been 
discovered, which bids fair to surmount all these difficulties ; 
and it has been patented under the title, “ The Marezzo 
Marble.” 

The Marezzo Marbles are now manufactured with speed 
and accuracy, from a petro-vitrifying fibrous concrete, by 
the patented process, producing either the rarest or the 
commonest varieties of marble, yielding at a cost less than 
mere surface painting or graining, a profit of from 100 to 
300 per cent, and upwards. 

They bear an exquisite polish, quite equal to the rarest 
and most costly foreign marbles, for which they are always 
taken in their brilliancy and elegance of appearance; and 
whilst capable of resisting great pressure and hard blows, 
they can be delivered in the market unsurpassed for beauty, 
strength and durability, at one-tentli the price. 

The Marezzo Marbles are manufactured in blocks imita¬ 
tive of every kind of marble, including granite, porphyry, 
lapis lazuli, &c., of which they are perfect facsimiles; the 
colors being veined and embodied in the substance itself— 
which is harder than marble or slate, and not mere surface 


9 


imitations, like graining, or tlie colors floated on enamelled 
slate. 

They can be moulded, sawn, dressed, and polished into 
every conceivable shape, admitting of elaborate figurings 
and ornamental forms; bearing exposure to heat, cold, and 
damp quite as well as real marble; besides being more 
manageable, and more easily applied, and hence infinitely 
superior to scagliola, or other far more expensive and clumsy 
imitations of marble. 

For lining the walls of entrance-halls, staircases, and 
saloons, warehouses, shops, mansions, churches, railway 
stations, hotels, post-offices, Government and other public 
buildings, where costly marbles of various colors, such as 
Sienna, green of various kinds, black and gold, &c., are 
commonly imitated in graining, or otherwise, nothing has 
ever been used equal to the effect produced by Marezzo 
Marble; while, considering its durability, and that, unlike 
real marble, it can be imperceptibly repaired, if broken, 
equal to new, and that the walls do not require rendering 
with plaster or cement for its application, it is actually 
cheaper than any other ornamental material of a similar 
nature. 

The Marezzo Marbles have been extensively used at 
home and abroad, and universally approved. Among other 
works are the Entrance Hall of the Society of Arts, Adel- 
phi; the columns of the Memorial Synagogue, Rochester; 
the Corridor of Gray’s Inn Chambers, High Holborn; Large 
Winding Staircase in a mansion at Stanhope Gardens, Ken¬ 
sington ; Large Columns for Hingham Hall, East Dereham, 
&c.; and these marbles are already approved for the Dub¬ 
lin Exhibition, and for the Kew General Post Office, St. 
Martin’s-le-Grand, London, and are being placed in the 
Boston Post Office and Sub-Treasury of the United States. 

Practical marble-masons, architects, sculptors, geologists, 
and others, who have examined the marble, agree that none 


10 


superior for tlie price exists, eitlier as to the quality or the 
beauty and brilliancy of its colors. It takes a beautiful 
polish, and presents a brilliantly finished surface. 

An idea may be formed of its imperviousness to the in¬ 
fluences of the atmosphere, wet, or heat, from the fact that 
they are now extensively used for baths, after having been 
tested by an eminent water engineer, by the successive ap¬ 
plications of hot water and steam up to 212 degrees, varied 
with the violent extreme of ice-cold water, out of which un¬ 
usual ordeal Marezzo Marble has come perfectly victorious. 

All the manufactures of Marezzo productions are dis¬ 
tinguished by the homogeneous, equal nature of the marble, 
and the beautv of the colors. 

Some varieties belong to the most highly priced marbles 
in existence, the originals of which are so scarce that it is dif¬ 
ficult to obtain blocks of any dimensions in them; whilst in 
Marezzo, any size slab of the scarcest variet}^ may be had, at 
the cost of as many shillings as the former would cost pounds. 

Here is. consequently, a marble which fulfils all the 
requirements of the commercial public. 

Its quality is unsurpassed. It cuts smoothly; it takes 
the most brilliant polish, as attested by actual working. Its 
durability is beyond doubt; its colors are magnificent; the 
veining perfect; and they comprise the choicest marbles in 
existence, as Marezzo can be manufactured as cheaply and 
easily in imitation of the rarest as of the commonest marble. 

In short, this marble offers all the advantages and none 
of the disadvantages of the real, and we may now proceed 
to examine the next great desideratum, namely, the price. 

The following is the Official Report of one of the best 
and most reliable authorities in this matter. It has been 
given by Mr. Morton Edwards, not upon a merelj’ super¬ 
ficial examination or inspection, but only after having well 
tested the material, and thoroughly and statistically inves* 
tigated its capacities and value. 


11 


OFFICIAL REPORT ON MAREZZO 

MARBLE. 

7 Gower Street, Bedford Square, W. C. } 
London, March 7th, 1872. ) 

The Marezzo Marble is capable of being used for a 
variety of purposes, both useful and ornamental, and the 
following are its greatest recommendations :— 

1st. It is so close an imitation of some marbles that the 
touch only can detect the real, and then only by the 
peculiar coldness marble always retains. 

2nd. Its cheapness, and the rapidity with which it can 
be prepared for use or sale, in nearly every size, 
shape or form. 

3d. Its durability—it being entirely waterproof and 
almost entirely fireproof, and not affected by any 
ordinary traffic. 

There is no doubt whatever that the trade—home, for¬ 
eign, and colonial—will continue to extend; and my 
opinion, given after a visit to the Works, in November, 
1871, as to its “being adapted to a variety of purposes for 
which it was not then used, and that when it was better 
known and tested, the trade would rapidly develope,” has 
been fully borne out by orders since executed by the Com¬ 
pany. 

The Marezzo Marble is particularly applicable for Floors, 
Skirtings, Panelling, Pilasters, Pillars, Columns, Mouldings, 
Covings, Ceilings, Staircases, Chimney-pieces, Slabs, &c. ; 
and can even be successfully introduced in Baths, Foun¬ 
tains, and out-door work: in fact, it may be used for a 
Paper-weight or a Palace Staircase. 

I have gone into calculations as to the relative price for 
Marble, Enamelled Slate, Scagliola, and the Patent Marble, 
for several articles, and it appears to be about one-tenth the 


12 


price of marble, and one-half the price of Scagliola and En¬ 
amelled Slate; while it may be procured in any size, is 
easier worked, and from its lightness costs but little for car¬ 
riage or fixing. 

The business appears to be a lucrative one, even now 
and, if properly managed, the manufacture must be a source 
of considerable profit to those interested in it. 

I shall confidently recommend it whenever and wherever 
I have the oppoitunity, and intend using it myself. 

Morton Edwards, Consulting Sculptor. 

Sec. Soc. Sculptors; Sec. L and A. Soc.; etc., etc., etc , 


IY. 

It is evident from the foregoing remarks, that as the 
Marezzo Marble, in its kind, stands unsurpassed in beauty 
and quality, it will, with equal success, maintain the more 
severe test of price of production. 

Not only can the marble be produced at the same price 
as ordinary enamelled slate decorations, but at a cheaper 
rate than any of them. No painter or grainer in the world 
can successfully compete with the Marezzo Marble in the 
cheapness of production. 

The retirement of the proprietor from business has caused 
the invention only to be worked on a small scale, or, as it 
were, tentatively. Nevertheless it has proved very pro¬ 
ductive and profitable. The demand has always exceeded 
the supply, and orders for this marble have been pouring in 
so rapidly that the patentee sees his anticipations far ex¬ 
ceeded, and finds himself induced to give some attention to 
the matter, and enlarge the scale of his operations. 



13 


A vast market exists for the marble in France, Spain, 
Italy, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, America, Belgium, 
Germany, Austria, Russia, Sweden, India, and Australia; 
and a great trade may also be expected to arise eastward, 
via the Suez Canal, from India and other hot countries, for 
which the Marezzo Marbles are particularly adapted. 

But, above all, w T e must not omit to point to the exten¬ 
sive trade which will undoubtedly be done with the four 
great markets, Paris, Berlin, London, and New York, 
which, between them, have imported foreign marble to the 
extent of several millions sterling every year. 

In Europe a very large variety of colored marbles are 
found, and those too of the rarest and choicest kinds, and 
many public and private houses have been decorated with 
them in all the beauty afforded by nature, aided by skillful 
hands. 

Many varieties of these marbles have been imported into 
the United States, but these have been retained in the 
hands of a few men, and have been so expensive that they 
could not be used except on work of the most luxurious 
description. 

The only really good American colored marble in the 
market appears to be that brought from Tennessee, and 
large quantities of this stained material finds a ready sale in 
New York. 

Thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars have 
been expended in this country in the search for a good 
colored marble, for the want of which we have been com¬ 
pelled to resort to imitations like the Scagliolo, a very soft 
and fragile production, and also to the rather expensive 
process of coloring the real white marble, and finally to 
that imitation known as marbleized slate so extensively used 
in the manufacture of slate mantels. 

During the past ten years an enormous business has been 
done in the last named imitation, and in New York alone 


14 


about eight very extensive manufactories liave been estab- 
lished to meet the public demand for this class of articles, 
tlie obvious disadvantages of winch when tested side by 
side can be seen at once. 

What a vast field for enterprise ! An unlimited demand 
and a practically inexhaustible supply, and at profits which 
would still be considered enormous if curtailed by half! It 
only requires the co-operation of capitalists to bring this 
rich property into the market and realise fortunes on it. 

A plentiful supply of a good substitute for marble at rea¬ 
sonable prices will have another great effect: it will popu¬ 
larise the use of marble, and thus double and treble the 
demand. We can hardly expect to rival the ancients, wdio 
used marble not only in the building of their palaces and 
houses, but also generally about the interiors, for walls, 
flooring, baths, tables, &c.; but need only enumerate some 
of the articles for which marble may usefully, and with 
great ornamental effect, be employed, to show what a large 
field there is for this branch of mercantile industry. We 
may use marble for shop-fronts, hall-flooring, door-steps, 
panels for damp rooms or walls, billiard-tables, panelling 
for billiard-rooms, window-sills, and for lining entrances, 
halls, staircases, hotels, saloons, public buildings, bath¬ 
rooms, mansions, offices, &c., and also for vases, baths, 
table-tops, cooking-slabs, chimney-pieces, slabs for all kind 
of furniture, clocks, and hundreds of other articles. 

There has not been for years an enterprise offering a 
more promising prospect of certain profit to those who 
choose to aid in working it all over the world. For never 
was there a more valuable Patent Manufacture in the Arts, 
either for constructive purposes, or for decoration. Every 
feature of it points to a great commercial success. At half 
the price of other decorative appliances, it must yield a 
good profit, but at a fourth of the price at which marble 
actually sells all over the world, it cannot fail to pay enor- 


15 


mously. The very low cost of manufacture of this Patent 
monopoly, requires only a small working capital, and leaves 
an unusually large margin of profit If works are forthwith 
established in the various capitals, the same as at London, 
Brussels, Berlin, Paris and Yew York, say at Boston. Chi¬ 
cago, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Washington, Buffalo, Mon¬ 
treal, and other cities of the States, so as to keep pace 
with the enormous demands now made for the extensive 
building which is going on in all these cities, and which 
augment with their continually increasing populations, and 
for the general demands of thoSe wealthy and beautiful cities, 
a certain and highly lucrative business would be ensured for 
many years to come. In India also, and in all hot climates 
Marezzo Marble would be a special boon for many sanitary 
reasons. The highest authorities certify that in Bombay 
the cost of building stone is so great that it is cheaper to 
import it from England than to purchase it on the spot; 
and there can be no doubt that Marezzo Marble would be 
welcomed by the architectural profession throughout the 
country, not only from its decorative attractiveness, but 
from its extraordinary cheapness and intrinsic value. 

The building trade throughout the world has, during the 
last few years, received a tremendous impulse. In most of 
the large cities of the world the population has increased, 
and is increasing, at a considerable rate. European capi¬ 
tals and American cities are being surrounded by new-born 
suburbs, which are cities in themselves. Magnificent pub¬ 
lic buildings of the greatest beauty are springing up as if 
by magic, and each city seems to vie with the other which 
should produce the most costly and most beautiful edifices. 
This, and the demand which has arisen for Marezzo Mar¬ 
bles, for fire-proof and other buildings, both at home and 
abroad, should realise to the earnest workers, as well as to 
the fortunate possessors of this beautiful manufacture, a 
princely income. 


OPINIONS OF THE PRESS 


ON THE 

MAREZZO MARBLES. 


PROGRESS IN CANADA, PHILADELPHIA AND BOSTON. 


REPOETS AND OPINIONS OF PUBLIC JOURNALS. 

[From The Ottawa Times, April 29, 1873.] 

DOMINION PARLIAMENT. 

Second Parliament—First Session. 

House of Commons. 

Monday, April 28, 1873. 
Mr. Speaker took the chair at three o’clock. 

Mr. S avary moved the second reading of the bill to incorporate the 
“Marezzo Marble Company of Canada.” Carried. 

On motion of Mr. Savary, the House Avent into committee, Mr. Mac¬ 
donald (Pictou) in the chair, adopted the bill without amendment, rose 
and reported, and the bill was read a third time and passed. 


[From The Morning Chronicle, Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 29, 1873.] 

The Marezzo Marble Company. —We invite the attention of 
capitalists and the public generally to the prospectus of the Marezzo 
Marble Company, published in our advertising columns. Many of our 
readers will remember the beautiful specimens of the marble exhibited 
at the Merchants’ Reading Room a few months ago, at which time we 
noticed the process of manufacture and the great utility of the invention. 
The patentee has lately been in the United States for the purpose of 
introducing the article there, and met with much success, especially in 
getting the United States Government to adopt it for use in all their new 
public buildings and in several buildings already erected. Contracts 
have already been entered into for the use of the marble in the cash 
room of the Treasury Building at Boston. The cost of the work in that 
case will be about $20,000, and it is said that the room will be more 
beautifully finished than the cash room of the Treasury at Washington, 
which was finished in real marble at a cost of several hundred thousand 
dollars. Mr. Mullett, the Government supervising architect, says the 
Marezzo marble is preferable to the real marble, because it will stand 
the heat and cold better, does not disintegrate, and can easily be re- 





17 


paired if broken. Briefly described, Marezzo marble is an imitation of 
tbo real marble. It can be used for walling, cornices, wainscoting, 
tiling, steps, batli-tubs, billiard tables, interior and exterior decoration 
of buildings, etc. An act of incorporation for a company in the Domin¬ 
ion is now passing through the Dominion Parliament. 


{From The, Halifax Recorder, August 17, 1872.] 

Marezzo Marble. —This is a new invention by which a marbleized 
surface can be, by a secret process, in a very short time put upon slabs 
of granite or any other inferior stone. This surface imitates every vein, 
every spot, and the exact color and shading of the kind of marble it is 
intended to represent perfectly. It is harder than marble, and bears the 
most exquisite polish. Heat and the atmosphere do not, it is claimed, 
affect it. Besides these advantages, the manufacturers say that after 
paying them a profit of fully two hundred per cent, on its cost, they can 
still sell it for about one-sixtli of the price of the real article. It is an 
English invention and has been introduced to that market by the “Ma¬ 
rezzo Marble Company,” whose manufactory is in Slienton Street, Old 
Kent Road, S. E. 

An English paper describes the process of manufacture as follows : 

The basic element of the whole is Keene’s cement of the finest quality, 
as manufactured by Messrs. Bazley, White & Co., which is mixed with 
water and appropriate body colors, and sprinkled on and over the sur¬ 
face of a polished glass plate, apparently in admired disorder, but really 
with purport and design. This suffices for the mottled and variegated 
effects required for the body of the work ; the method of producing the 
veins of all sorts and sizes is really the keystone of the fabric, though 
wonderfully simple. Skeins of silk, steeped in suitable colors, are 
ravelled by hand by two of the artisans and laid upon the glass plate 
prior to the application of the cement, in such patterns and positions as 
may correspond to the natural order and arrangement thereof in the 
marble itself, which it is sought to imitate and reproduce After the 
irregular but artistic application of the hydrated cement has been com¬ 
pleted, forming a surface of sufficient depth—say one-eiglitli of an inch— 
the skeins are lifted and removed, leaving, of course, their traces in the 
shape of colored veins varying in magnitude and tint, but permeating 
the depth of the mass. The thickness of the artificial marble is then 
increased suitably by cement of a somewhat coarser quality, and the 
superfluous moisture at the back taken up and absorbed by an excess of 
still coarser cement, so that the whole sets sufficiently to allow the glass 
and slab to be raised on end, so that the effect can be seen at the surface, 
and, indeed, to be appreciated, it must be seen. 

When completely dry, the slab is detached from the glass, and made 
up to any desired thickness by a backing of coarser Keene’s cement, 
and materially strengthened in tensile degree by the interpolation of up 

2 



18 



intermediate backing of fibrous material, coarse canvas or other. The 
surface, already smooth from the glass plate, is rubbed, finished and 
polished to bring out the marbling, which, as we have remarked, is 
marvellously exact to the real thing. 

The process has been patented for Great Britain, and applications for 
patents have been filed at Ottawa and at Washington.* An agent has 
been appointed for the Dominion who proposes to establish a manufac¬ 
tory of this marble before long in this province. Some beautiful speci¬ 
mens of this marble are on exhibition at the reading-room. 


[From the Halifax Chronicle, August 14, 1872.] 

Marezzo Marble.— There are now on exhibition at the Merchants’ 
reading-room a number of specimens of an artificial marble known as 
“ Marezzo Marble/’ It is an English invention, intended to furnish at 
a low cost an article that will be equal in durability and beauty to the 
best marble for decorative purposes, and certainly the specimens lead 
one to believe that in beauty at least the invention is successful. It is 
claimed that a perfect imitation of any kind of marble can be produced 
by the invention, and can be supplied at about one tenth the cost of 
real marble, to which for all decorations it is fully equal. An agent of 
the inventor is now in Halifax endeavoring to organize a company to 
manufacture “ Marezzo Marble ” for the Dominion. We commend the 
enterprise to the attention of our capitalists and trust that, on inquiry, 
they may find sufficient to lead them to assist it. 


[From The Washington Daily Morning Chronicle, March 21, 1873.] 

We are pleased to note that a company is now organizing in New 
York for the purpose of introducing these Marbles into this country. 
As a perfect substitute for marbles they supply a want lom>* felt 
by our architects. They have been thoroughly tested in the old 
country, and now decorate the interior of many of the public buildings 
and palaces abroad, and their cheapness has also enabled many private 
citizens to decorate their mansions, and the dream of “ Marble Halls ” 
has become a reality under pleasing circumstances. We are pleased 
further to learn that our far-seeing friend, Mr. A. B. Mullett, has con¬ 
tracted for the furnishing of the Sub Treasury and Post-Office at Boston 
with them. 

It would be well for the architects of our city to look after this valu¬ 
able material as its cheapness brings it within the scope of all, and our 
friends here can dwell in marble edifices of their own, that will not cost 
them any more than ordinary buildings. 


* Since granted. 







19 


[From the Mechanics' Magazine , June 8, 1872.] 

“ Marezzo Marble at the Dublin Exhibition.— The field of in¬ 
vention and useful application in building appliances is very wide, and 
cannot by any means be said to be overcrowded, although it lias re¬ 
cently been fairly cultivated by inventors. But judging from the almost 
slavish adherence to precedent and routine displayed in the great mass 
of modern constructions, dwellings, &c., one would imagine that field 
was very limited, and but little explored. 

“ We deem it therefore a matter worthy of special and emphatic 
commendation when an architect is to be found, forsaking entirely the 
beaten paths —antiquas vias —forming and realizing new and beautiful 
conceptions and effects by the aid of some new material, or the novel 
application and combination of old ones. 

“Moreover, the material elements of his success, the means and ap¬ 
pliances employed in the embodiment of his conception, become espe¬ 
cially noteworthy when they accomplish effective results by a simple 
and inexpensive process, and furnish an important and valuable addi¬ 
tion to building appliances of ornamentation. 

“We are led to these remarks by an examination of the fountain, 
which forms one of the most elegant and attractive objects in the build¬ 
ing of the Dublin Exhibition, just opened by H. R. Id. the Duke of 
Edinburgh, and which has been constructed to the order of Sir Arthur 
Uuiness, Bart., M.P., by the Marezzo Marble Company, from the de¬ 
signs of Mr. Walter Emden, architect, associated with whom Mr. J 
Broomfield was the sculptor. 

“ This fountain is not only colossal in scale, beautiful in design, and 
perfect in execution, but derives its chief interest from the material in 
which it has been constructed, and which is really an artificial marble, 
made under a patented process, simple and rapid in execution, and fully 
entitled in results to represent, to rival, and to supplant the natural 
marbles of every kind in point of effect, with great concomitant advan¬ 
tages and superiority in respect of cost. 

“Quite recently a considerable number of gentlemen interested— 
quorum pars pcirva fuimus —having been invited to a private exposition 
and view of the process and products of manufacture at the works of 
the Marezzo Marble Company, in Slienton Street, Old Kent Road, S. E., 
we w^ere enabled to realize the perfection of simplicity and rapidity of 
the operations, and the accurate veri-similitude of the result, which 
were alike astonishing. Within the short space of an hour, or an hour 
and a half, two perfect slabs were manufactured, each containing about 
sixteen or eighteen superficial feet, the one of ‘ violet veined’ and the 
other of ‘ Sienna’ marble. There would of course, remain the drying 
stage, of about a day, and the finishing process for the surface, but so 
far as the formation of the slab was concerned, the operation was com¬ 
plete. 

“By the courtesy and intelligence of the manager, Mr. Riotti, and 
through the manipulative skill of the artists—for such they may be ac- 


20 


counted—every stage of the construction was exemplified. lhe basic 
element of the wliole is Keene’s cement of tlie finest quality, as manu¬ 
factured by Messrs. Bazley, White & Co., which is mixed with water 
and appropriate body colors, and sprinkled on and over the surface of a 
polished glass plate, apparently in admired disorder, but really with 
purport and design. This suffices for the mottled and variegated effects 
required for tlie body of tlie work ; tlie method of producing the veins 
of all sorts and sizes is really the keystone of the fabric, though won¬ 
derfully simple. Skeins of silk, steeped in suitable colors, are ravelled 
by hand by two of the artisans and laid upon the glass plate prior to 
the application of the cement, in such patterns and positions as may 
correspond to the natural order and arrangement thereof in the marble 
itself which it is sought to imitate and reproduce. After the irregular 
but artistic application of the hydrated cement has been completed, 
forming a surface of sufficient depth—say one-eighth of an inch—the 
skeins are lifted and removed, leaving, of course their traces in the 
shape of colored veins, varying in magnitude and tint, but permeating 
the depth of the mass. The thickness of the artificial marble is then 
increased suitably by cement of a somewhat coarser quality, and the 
superfluous moisture at the back taken up and absorbed by an excess of 
still coarser cement, so that the whole sets sufficiently to allow the glass 
and slab to be raised on end, so that the effect can be seen at the sur¬ 
face, and, indeed, to be appreciated it must be seen. 

“ When completely dry, the slab is detached from the glass and made 
up to any desired thickness by a backing of coarser Keene’s cement, and 
materially strengthened in tensile degree by the interpolation of an in¬ 
termediate backing of fibrous material, coarse canvas, or other. The 
surface, already smooth from the glass plate, is rubbed, finished, and 
polished, to bring out the marbling, which, as we have remarked, is 
marvellously exact to the real thing. For certain purposes, to enhance 
endurance against wear and exposure, a further process of enamelling 
may be and is resorted to, whereby a kind of hard and highly polished 
vitreous surface is imparted to the finished product 

“ ‘ Ars est cetare artem wherefore it must be understood that how¬ 
ever careless and purposeless the operations of the workmen may appear 
to be in effecting the veined, mottled, and variegated appearances ob¬ 
tained, they are, nevertheless, the result of special training and artistic 
faculty, devoted to and developed in a perfect study of and acquaintance 
with the different varieties of marble intended to be exactly reproduced, 
and rendered the more difficult of acquirement, because the work, as 
will have been seen, is entirely done a tergo. In the result, the Marezzo 
Marble is scarcely, if at all, to be distinguished from genuine marbles. 

“ It scarcely needs to be pointed out that though applied, as above 
described, to the production of flat surfaces, yet its application and 
manufacture are capable in an infinite variety of moulded forms and 
patterns, representing carved work and design of every description, with 
a sharpness and delicacy, and above all cheapness, almost fabulous. It 


21 


has been estimated on good authority that this patent marble does not 
exceed one-lialf the cost of scagliola and enamelled slate, while far sur¬ 
passing them in effect and realism, and only about one-tenth of the cost 
of real marble, diminishing beyond comparison in very elaborate work. 

“ This material has an extensive range of utility in decorative work, 
plain, moulded or circular, superficial or solid, whether as columns and 
pilasters, statuary, pedestals, cornices, covings, wall-linings, tesselated 
pavements, floors, staircases, skirtings, mouldings, chimney-pieces, con¬ 
sole slabs and tables, panels, &c., &c. It has been employed with 
advantage and effect in numerous private mansions, as at Stanhope Gar¬ 
dens, Kensington ; South Lodge, Kniglitsbridge, the mansion of Baron 
Worms ; Hingliam Hall, East Dereliam; Gray’s Inn Chambers, High 
Holborn ; as also in public buildings, such as the Rochester Memorial 
Synagogue, and notably, the entrance hall of the Society of Arts, Adel- 
plii. In fact, there has been no appliance for building and decorative 
purposes of recent introduction more important than this, or more capa¬ 
ble of lending itself happily, effectively, and economically to tasteful 
and artistic effect.” 


\Daily News, May 25, 1872.] 

“ Marezzo Marbles. —The production of imitation marbles for the 
purposes of architectural decoration has now for many years taxed the 
inventive faculties of those who saw in the luxurious taste of the age a 
market for anything that could conduce to gorgeous effect at a compara¬ 
tively cheap cost. The beautiful vcining, the close grain, the hardness 
of the material, and, therefore, the adaptation to the reception of a 
highly polished surface, have always placed marble in the first rank of 
decorative building stone. Unfortunately the scarcity of the material, 
and that very quality of hardness, involving necessarily an enormous 
expenditure in workmanship, have placed it beyond the reach of any¬ 
thing below princely fortunes. Scagliola has been for some years nsed 
as a substitute for marble, both architecturally and sculptorially; but 
scagliola is expensive. The Marezzo Marble is an invention which is 
intended to popularise the use of imitative marble for in-door and out¬ 
door decorative purposes, and, judging from what we saw on Thursday, 
at a private exhibit at- the works of the Company in Slienton Street, 
Old Kent Road, we should be inclined to augur a successful result. 
Architects, district surveyors, builders, sculptors, and other professional 
and practical men who were present, were fervent in their commenda¬ 
tions of the new material—some from personal experience, and others 
from what they saw. The advantages of the Marezzo Marble, as ex¬ 
plained by the manager of the works, M. Riotti, are its cheapness, the 
ease and rapidity of manufacture, and its applicability to all purposes 
of internal building decoration—such as wall lining, flooring, chimney- 
pieces, pedestals, columns, cornices—as well as statuary, fountains, and 
other out-of-door ornaments. During our visit we saw two slabs, one 



of Sienna tlie other of wliite-veined marble, begun and finished ready 
for the polisher in somewhat less than three-quarters of an hour, the 
slabs being each about five feet square. The process of manufacture is 
a very simple one. A slab of plate glass is laid down, upon that skeins 
of silk saturated with the dyes representing the colors and forms of the 
veins in the kind of marble to be imitated are spread ; upon this ce¬ 
ment, in a semi-liquidised state, is sprinkled to a thickness of about the 
eighth of an inch. This is left to be thoroughly impregnated with the 
dye from the silk, which is then removed. More of the liquid cement 
is added, until the slab acquires the requisite thickness ; then it is left 
to dry (a process that usually occupies about twelve hours), and the slab 
is then lifted from the glass, and is ready for the polisher. The cost 
of this Marezzo Marble is, we are told, about one-tentli that of real 
marble, and one-fifth that of scagliola, for plain work ; and the differ¬ 
ence as regards marble in cornices, capitals, statuary, and other work of 
ornamentation, must necessarily be much greater, seeing that the ma¬ 
terial is all worked in a semi-fiuid state.” 


[Morning Post , May 24, 1872.] 

“Marezzo Marble. —A material which promises to be very useful 
in the hands of architects and decorators has recently been introduced 
under the name of Marezzo Marble, and owing to the many desirable 
qualities it is known to possess, publicity is all that is required to give 
the composition that prominence which it so well deserves. It is not 
necessary to describe to the general reader the process by which it is 
produced, though it is not by any means intricate ; but the result may 
be said to be an accurate imitation of any kind of marble which may 
be desired. Among the most important of the advantages which are 
claimed for the compound are beauty, durability, easiness of manipula¬ 
tion, a high polish, and a much lower price than that at which any 
material at all approaching it can at present be offered. In order to 
convey an idea of the multiplicity of uses for the ‘ Marezzo ’ one has 
only to think of the large number of articles at present made of marble, 
such as table-tops, chimney-pieces, cornices, pillars, brackets, fountains, 
&c. ; and as regards its adaptability in this last-named respect, visitors 
to the Dublin Exhibition will have a striking proof in the presence of 
an exceedingly large and beautiful composition which will be on view 
there for a time, but will afterwards be removed to be fixed at one of 
the seats, in Ireland, of Sir Arthur Guinness. The portion of this foun¬ 
tain at present complete is now at the works, Shenton Street, Old Kent 
Road, where, on Wednesday last, it was seen and much admired by a 
large number of architects and others, who had been invited to view 
the works and witness the mode by which the so-called marble is pro¬ 
duced. After these gentlemen had had an opportunity of thoroughly 
investigating the mode of manufacture, statements were made by the 
manager and others as to the advantages of the new material, and 



23 


criticism was invited. Opinions were given by all kinds of practical 
men, but no one was adverse, all agreeing that Marezzo Marble was an 
important discovery, and that its uses were more than manifold. Time 
alone can test its durability, but there is every probability that that 
which so truly tries all things will only Confirm the good opinion 
already entertained so widely for the Marezzo. It is calculated that it 
is about one-tentli the price of marble, and one-lialf that of scagliola 
and enameled slate.” 


[Morning Advertiser, May 23, 1872.] 

“The Patent Marezzo Marble. —This is the title of a new mate¬ 
rial which has been recently introduced to the notice of the public by 
the patentee, for the ornamentation of buildings, and its manufacture 
and application seem fully to justify the commendation bestowed upon 
it by gentlemen who are regarded as authorities on the subject ; and 
such certainly is our own impression of the invention after having wit¬ 
nessed its manipulation yesterday, in company with several architects, 
surveyors, and gentlemen connected with the decorative art in relation 
to buildings, at the new and enlarged works erected in Slienton Street, 
Old Kent Road, for the purpose of carrying out the process by which the 
marbles in question are produced. 

“ It is not our intention to go into detail in respect to the manufacture 
of these marbles ; suffice it to say that they are worked out with great 
speed and accuracy from a petro-vitrifying fibrous concrete, capable of 
resisting great pressure and the hardest blows. They bear an exquisite 
polish, quite equal to the rarer and most costly foreign marbles in 
brilliancy and elegance of appearance, whilst they can be delivered in 
the market at one-fourtli the price ; and in many cases at a cost less 
than painting or graining, and not exceeding asplialte. They are appli¬ 
cable to all decorative purposes, and they can be manufactured into 
every conceivable shape into which marble is or can be applied/’ 


[The Irish limes , June 6, 1872.] 

“Article on the Opening of the Dublin Exhibition. —As the 
visitor enters the nave from the Statuary Hall he first sets eyes upon 
the new central fountain, upon which a great amount of skill, taste and 
inventive power has been bestowed, and which forms one of the hand¬ 
somest and most interesting objects which the building contains. The 
plan of the basin consists of a number of curves following gracefully 
one into another, and forming a line of beauty for which there is, 
perhaps no distinct name, but the foci of whose extreme points would 
lie upon an ellipse of small eccentricity, with the major axis running 
transversely to the Statuary Hall. The bottom of the basin is oval, 
polished and water-tight. The pedestals of about four feet high, and 
surmounted by massive circular granite slabs, highly polished and finished 




24 


about seven feet in diameter, are placed at equal distances witliin it, 
and are lightly covered with water. The central pedestal is surmounted 
by a splendid white Marezzo marble figure, of great height, representing 
St. Patrick crushing the toad beneath his foot. At foot, the statue is sur¬ 
rounded by four female figures, each of a different marble, and each typ¬ 
ical of one of the provinces of Ireland. The interetical spacings between 
the allegorical figures are occupied by groups of classic nautili, illustrating 
their famous motion by oars and sails composed of the arms and raised 
mantles of the pretty molluscs themselves. The two remaining pedes¬ 
tals of the basin support figures of St. Michael, finely cut in alabaster ; 
and above all the sets of statues, there play tall jets of water falling in 
feathering spray to the reservoir below. This reservoir, for some dis¬ 
tance below the water-line, is paved with pure white tiles, and the rim 
is bordered with polished Marezzo marble. The fountain can be power¬ 
fully and beautifully lighted. At either end strong jets of oxyhydrogen 
light or lime light throw their rays upon the water ; and at the sides four 
black reclining figures bear torches in their hands over the brink. The 
fountain can also be lighted under the water as well as over, and this is 
arranged in such a manner as to produce a very remarkable effect.” 


[The Dublin Daily Express, June 6, 1872.] 

“ In its article on the opening of the Dublin Exhibition, says :— 
With regard to the fountain of beautifully finished Marezzo Marble, 
which is in the central part of the nave facing the apse, and the colon¬ 
nade or sculpture hall, its enclosing rim is made up of curves of con¬ 
trary flexure, with four circular granite bases at equi-distant spaces, on 
which are reclining negro figures bearing ornamental lamps. Within 
the rim there is at either side of the centre of the basin a group of four 
storks, standing amidst water plants, and supporting a basin from 
which there springs a sprite or Naiad child bearing a tuft of shamrock 
containing an ornamental water jet. In the centre of the fountain there 
is a group rising to the height of about twenty feet above the floor. 
Around the base of this group there are four figures, emblematic of the 
four provinces of Ireland, each seated on a nautilus, with sails set and 
extended oars. The base carries a large ornamental basin rising above 
the figures already described, and through the basin there passes a shaft, 
around which descending serpents are coiled. The group is crowned by 
a figure of St. Patrick trampling under foot a toadstool and banishing 
the serpents from the soil. The right hand is extended, the left grasps 
a staff, above which is a cluster of shamrock leaves containing large 
ornamental water jets. Nothing but an actual inspection of this artistic 
structure could give any adequate idea of the wonderful beauty of design 
which pervades it, and of the extremely pretty arrangement of the folds 
of the drapery and the coloring of the different portions. The lialf- 
robed negro figures are peculiarly handsome, considered as works of 
art, and the moulding of the allegorical groups representing the pro- 



25 


vinces is something over which any one may profitably spend half an 
hour. . . . The rim is composed of violet vein marble, the central 

shaft of a splendidly rich Irish green. The basins are of Italian 
marble; the serpent coiled round the shaft is of Egyptian green, and 
the figures, nautilus shells, and sails, are in tints closely approaching 
those of nature, and producing an imposing effect. . . . The whole 

of these beautiful designs have been originated and executed by Mr. 
Walter Emden, a London architect.” 


[Builders’ Weekly Reporter, May 24, 1872.] 

“Patent Mauezzo Marble.— On the 22d of February, 1868, we 
wrote : ‘ Among recent improvements and inventions for the ornamenta¬ 
tion of buildings, we have no hesitation in placing the Patent Marezzo 
Marble in the foremost rank. The progress of taste can offer no better 
proof than the success which this invention has met with since its 
introduction.’ This opinion has been fully borne out by the increasing 
demand for the new marble, which has become so great that much en¬ 
larged premises in Slienton Street, Old Kent Road, have been erected 
for its manufacture. On Wednesday a large number of architects, sur¬ 
veyors, builders, and gentlemen connected with the decorative arts in 
buildings, were present by invitation to witness the process of manufac¬ 
turing the Marezzo Marble, and to inaugurate the new and spacious 
building erected by the patentee. Several slabs of marble were made 
in the presence of the spectators, and explanations given as to the in¬ 
gredients forming it. The manufacture is simple enough, the veins 
being produced by an ingenious contrivance. The cement used in the 
process is Keene’s, which possesses the valuable property of not drying 
too quickly. A slab of three quarters of an inch thick takes about twelve 
hours to thoroughly dry, and is then so hard that it can be polished 
equal to the finest natural marbles, and capable of bearing a greater 
strain and a heavier weight than that which it so successfully imitates. 
This new marble is quickly made, and therefore it can be delivered in 
the market at about Is. 6d. per square foot, which is something like 
one-fourtli less than real marble. It was stated by the manager (Mr. 
Riotti), who was specially courteous, and willing to afford the fullest 
information upon every point connected with the manufacture, that the 
Marezzo Marble can be placed, in many cases, at a less cost than paint- 
ins: or graining - ; but this must be a mistake.* We have no doubt that 
it is applicable to all decorative purposes, and that it can be manufac¬ 
tured into every conceivable shape into which marble is or can be 
applied. Perfect facsimiles of all the different varieties of natural 
marble can be produced in this material, the colors being blended and 
veined through the whole thickness and depth as in marble itself, not 

* This is no mistake, inasmuch that the usual wages paid to a professional 
grainer of high class marbles is Is. (id. per square foot, irrespective ot the costot the 
wood on which they are represented or the colors with which they are done ; whilst 
the Marezzo Marble can be manufactured at a cost only of from 4d. to lid. per loot. 






being mere surface-like draining, or the color iloated on enamelled slate. 
It can be sawn, dressed and polished, equal to the very finest and most 
costly marble. It can be made in any form, and of any size, and there 
does not seem to be any limit to its usefulness. The new material has 
been used in the entrance hall of the Society of Arts, Adelphi; the col¬ 
umns of the Memorial Synagogue, Rochester; the corridor of Gray’s 
Inn Chambers, High Holborn; large winding staircase in a mansion at 
Stanhope Gardens, Kensington; large columns for Hingliam Hall, East 
Dereliam; and it has been recently approved by the authorities in con - 
nection with the New General Post Office. It may be stated, in addi¬ 
tion, that the marble is particularly applicable for floors, pilasters, chim¬ 
ney pieces, and in fact, to adopt the words of the report of Mr. Morton 
Edwards, Secretary of the Society of Sculptors of England, ‘ The in¬ 
vention may be used as a paper-weight or a palace staircase.’ In addi¬ 
tion to the manufacture, there was an exhibition of various articles pro¬ 
duced by the process, and amongst them was a fountain on a colossal 
scale, and of an exceedingly elaborate character, which is being con¬ 
structed to the order of Sir Arthur Guinness, Bart., the eminent Dublin 
brewer, for the forthcoming exhibition in that city. The design is by 
Mr. Walter Emden, of 8 Adam Street, Adelphi, architect to the Dublin 
Exhibition building, the sculptor being Mr. J. Bloomfield. The foun¬ 
tain when erected will be forty feet high. It was much admired, not 
only from the effective and appropriate character of the design, as well 
as for the beauty of the workmanship. In the course of a dejeuner given 
on the occasion, and which was efficiently presided over by Mr. John 
Lilwall, Parliamentary Agent of Walbrook, and the Secretary for the 
occasion, the value of the Patent Marezzo Marbles was warmly advo¬ 
cated by Mr. Walter Emden, the architect, Mr. A. J. Hiscocks, District 
Surveyor of Wandsworth, Mr. Hall, architect, and other gentlemen, all 
of whom believed that its application could have a very extended opera¬ 
tion in middle-class buildings, as well as in large establishments like 
those referred to above.” 


[ The Engineer, May 31, 1872.] 

“ Artificial Marble. —Last Wednesday week a party of engineers, 
builders, and architects, inspected by invitation the process of making 
the Marezzo Marbles at the works in Shenton Street, Old Kent Road. 
These artificial productions so much resemble real marbles that even 
people who call themselves judges of marble are sometimes deceived 
by them, so that the first impression is that they must be made at great 
expense in the shape of artistic ability, however cheap the materials 
used may be. But, in fact, a most elaborate system of ‘ veins ’ of dif¬ 
ferent colors is made in a minute or two by any ordinary workman at 
no expense at all. 

“ A large sheet of plate glass is first laid horizontally on a table, then 
a skein of tangled silk, knotted at the opposite ends, and soaked in col¬ 
oring matter, is pulled out into a rough rectangular form, the rectangle 



27 


being crossed in all directions by the tangled threads, and laid upon the 
piece of glass, the knots lying beyond the edges of the glass. This first 
skein is colored to form, say, the bine veins ; then another skein, 
soaked in other coloring matter, may be laid over it to form other 
veins. Then some Keene’s cement, lightly colored, is sprinkled over 
the skeins with the fingers, to further add to the marbling effect, and 
after two or three sprinklings, it may be of different colors, the silk is 
quite covered by the wet layer of cement. Then the silk is pulled out 
by being lifted vertically upwards through the cement. More cement 
is then added, and the mass is then smoothed by a trowel. Next, 
some fine cement is laid on, and over this a layer of canvas to give 
strength to the film, now about a sixth of an inch thick. Then comes 
a thick backing of coarse cement, making the whole five-eighths of an 
inch thick. On turning up the slab of plate glass, and looking at the 
face of the layers of cement, as fine a specimen of marble is seen as any¬ 
body need wish to view, all made in a few minutes. It is left on the 
glass twelve hours to dry, and is afterward enamelled and polished. 
It is not impossible that many a householder who thinks he has a fine 
marble inantlepiece might, by boring a little below the surface, be 
somewhat surprised to come upon a layer of canvas inside the stone. 

“ Nobody gave a verbal description of the process shown last week, 
but all questions put were freely answered by managers and workmen. 
Mr. Davey, of the Marezzo Marble Company, was said to be the inventor 
of the process. We put several questions as to the durability of the 
marble, there being no doubt as to the perfect character of the imita¬ 
tion, and were told that it had been found to be durable enough so long 
as it had been tried, namely, about five or six years. It was stated that 
the oldest specimen of it was an inlaid floor, at the office of Messrs. 
Bazley, White & Brothers, Milbank Street. 


[South London Chronicle , May 25, 1872.] 

“Marezzo Marble. —Avery interesting afternoon was on Wednes¬ 
day spent near the canal, in the Old Kent Road, when, at the invitation 
of the Directors of the Company, a number of gentlemen met in 
Slienton Street, on the occasion of the opening of new and enlarged 
works for the manufacture of the patent Marezzo Marble. The process 
has been in operation for about four years, but during that period, for 
reasons best known to the former proprietors, public attention has been 
but little drawn to the splendid results obtained. 

“ The process which was witnessed on Wednesday was very simple ; 
but of that we have not now to speak, except to remark that its sim¬ 
plicity is an element in favor of the shareholders. The results are 
what we have particularly to draw attention to, and these are very sur¬ 
prising, the more surprising from the simplicity and ease with which 
they are brought about. Any kind of marble is imitated, and as Mr. 
Hall, F.S.A., observed at the dejeuner which followed the inspection, 



28 


the Company need not confine themselves to imitation, but may apply 
the promptings of art to the process with good results. The article 
thus manufactured, when placed, cannot be told from real marble, and 
this we say not of ourselves—for we are not connoisseurs in the matter 
of marble—but the testimony of gentlemen eminent as architects, and 
others competent to judge, all tended to the same conclusion. Its ap¬ 
plication is as varied as the marble itself, and of its capability in this 
respect evidence was afforded on Wednesday, when various objects 
were exhibited. Among the things showed were the parts of the colossal 
fountain which is being constructed to the order of Sir Arthur Guinness 
for the forthcoming Dublin Exhibition. Some of the pieces, which 
were completed, presented a very fine appearance, notably the marble 
edging of the large basin, the majolica work and Sienna marble of 
which the pedestal is composed, and the figure of St. Patrick, which is 
to form the upper portion of the entire work. The chief feature of 
the process, in our minds, is its adaptability for ornamental purposes in 
our dwellings, as, by its small cost, persons of moderate means will be 
able to enjoy the luxury of a beautiful article to replace the present 
ugly wooden fire-places : of a marbled wall-space instead of paper, 
thus affording beauty and cleanliness; of doors, which will never want 
painting or varnishing ; and of various out-door ornaments instead of 
the ugly plain brick-work or daubs of plaster which disfigure our 
dwellings. Of its suitability for wall-coverings any one may be con¬ 
vinced who will take the trouble to visit the Society of Arts’ House in 
the Adelphi, where the hall has been lined with the marble for the last 
four years, and bids fair to realise in this case the oft quoted line of 
Keats, ‘ A thing of beauty is a joy forever.’ 

“At the dejeuner, held in the new premises, Mr. John Lilwall, pre¬ 
siding, loyal and patriotic toasts were warmly responded to, and toasts 
proposing success to the concern, and the health of the chief workers, 
were cordially drank. In the course of the speaking some valuable 
critical remarks were made by Mr. Hall, F.S.A., and Mr. A. J. Hiscocks, 
F.R.I.B.A., district surveyor of Wandsworth an<J. Putney, both of 
whom gave their testimony to the beauty, apparent durability, and 
worth of the material.” 


[South London Courier, May 25, 1872.] 

“Opening op the New Marezzo Marble Works, Old Kent 
Road.—Interesting Exposition op tiie Manufacture. —On Wed¬ 
nesday afternoon a number of gentlemen connected with architecture 
and building assembled by invitation at the Patent Marezzo Marble 
Works, in Slienton Street, Old Kent Road, on the occasion of the open¬ 
ing of the new and enlarged works for this novel manufacture, which, 
should it eventually succeed, must completely revolutionize the prices 
hitherto paid for marble, which is such an important article in decora¬ 
tive building. 



29 


“ The patentees of this new invention undertake to produce imitation 
marble which is as hard and bears a polish equal to that of the finest 
marble, whilst in color and vein the imitation is singularly perfect. 
The entrance hall of the Society of Arts has been lined from floor to 
ceiling with this new material, and it has also been recently approved 
by the authorities in connection with the New General Post Offlce. 

“ The proceedings of the gathering on Wednesday were rendered 
especially interesting by the manufacture of several specimens of this 
marble, in the presence of the company assembled, the process being 
no less astonishing than satisfactory to the several gentlemen present 
who witnessed the practical carrying out of this remarkable manufac¬ 
ture. Whilst the process is simple, the results achieved are marvellous. 
The modus operandi consists in a large sheet of glass being laid flat on 
frame work. (On this occasion the glass was five feet square, contain 
ing twenty five feet.) In the first instance, thin wire and cord are irreg¬ 
ularly laid on the surface of the glass, so as to form the veins in the 
large slab of marble which in a few minutes is to be produced. The 
material used, consisting of a liquid—and which we are informed is 
Keene’s cement—is then spread over the whole surface of the glass, to 
a depth of about half an inch, covering the veins. This being done, 
the veins are carefully drawn out, and the apertures thus left spreading 
over the surface are filled in with dry cement of various colors, which 
is sprinkled along them. A further coating of liquid cement is then 
placed over the entire area of the intended slab, and this is followed 
again by dry cement being thrown upon it, and the whole becomes 
set and perfectly hard in a few minutes, the surface being smoothed 
down during the process of hardening. The slab which has now 
been produced is then at once lifted up from the frame-work, and the 
face of the glass discloses beneath its surface a most artistic and beauti¬ 
ful face of marble, exactly resembling the genuine article. The glass 
is then removed from the artificial slab of marble which has thus been 
produced, and the process of polishing the face having been effected, 
the slab, both in appearance and touch, bears such a close resemblance 
to real marble that it is impossible to distinguish the imitation from the 
real, the former having been produced with such delicacy of color and 
perfection of marking. The time occupied in producing this slab, con. 
taining twenty five square feet, was about half an hour from the com¬ 
mencement of the process. In addition to witnessing this interesting 
process, the company were also invited to inspect a colossal marble 
fountain of an exceedingly elaborate character, which is being con¬ 
structed at the works for Sir Arthur Guinness, M.P., for the forthcom¬ 
ing Dublin Exhibition.” 


[City Press, May 25, 1872.] 

“ The Patent Marezzo Marble—A n exposition of the beauty of 
this material, its adaptability to decorative purposes, and the mode by 



80 


wliicli it is manufactured, was given when a select number of gentle¬ 
men, on Wednesday, visited the works of the company, and the opinion 
generally expressed was highly favorable.” 


[Art Journal, May, 1868.] 

“ The specimens we have seen bear a polish equal to that of the finest 
marble, and in color and vein the imitations are perfect. The differ¬ 
ence, for instance, between antique and modern Sienna is shown in the 
manufacture ; and on placing a piece of marble by the side of the imita¬ 
tion, the tint is found to be identical—the character of the veining being 
rendered exactly, insomuch that the difference between the material can 
be determined only by examination. 

“The application of Marezzo Marble is much more extensive than 
that of scagliola. There are, for example, certain stones which cannot 
be imitated in scagliola, but these can be represented in this material. 

“ The objects formed by the manufacture are chimney-pieces, pilas¬ 
ters, columns, pedestals, consoles, skirtings, mouldings, &c. The imi-* 
tations which we have had an opportunity of examining are those of 
Egyptian green, Irish green, vert-vert, jaune fleuri, and griotte —a very 
peculiar production, and so highly crystallized that the substance of the 
stone appears to be seen through glass. 

“The material seems susceptible of any variety of design. When it 
is considered in the form of pedestals and cornices, we are led to suppose 
its appearance in other moulded forms, to the diversity of which there 
is no limit. The slabs can be prepared for facing walls, in the same 
manner as marble is employed ; but here presents itself the question of 
cost, which, we are assured, would be less than that of scagliola, with 
the advantages of superior durability and surface. This opens at once 
a wide field for the application of the material to the ornamentation of 
public buildings and private dwellings. 

“The entrance to the house of the Society of Arts, in the Adelplii, has 
been recently decorated on this principle; and there a more perfect 
judgment of its effect can be formed than from seeing it in fragments, 
although never was marble imitated with such delicacy of color and per¬ 
fection of marking as are presented in these specimens. Under any 
circumstances, this ornamental product cannot but prove of value.” 


[Stock Exchange Review, January, 1872.] 

“Marezzo Marble is a beautiful and durable imitation of the 
genuine marble, resembling the latter so closely that even good judges 
often fail in detecting it. It imitates every vein, every spot, and the 
exact color and shading of the kind of marble it is intended to represent 
to perfection. It is harder than marble, and bears the most exquisite 
polish. Heat and the atmosphere do not affect it; and it is much more 
manageable than real marble. When we say that Marezzo, sold at one- 




31 


sixtli of the price of tlie real material, will bring to its proprietors a 
Profit of at least two hundred per cent, on its manufacture, investors' 
can judge for themselves of the elements of success embodied in the 
undertaking. ” 


[The Iron Times, January 20, 1872.] 

“ The Marezzo Marble manufacture is one of the simplest, yet the 
most beautiful, ornamental inventions of our time. It supplies a sur¬ 
face equal to the most costly marble, and indeed is superior to it, as 
more easily cleaned, at a rate little exceeding that of our asplialte pave¬ 
ment. It is almost as cheap as graining, far more elegant, and nearer 
to truth, and twenty times as durable. Some exquisite specimens of it 
may be seen in the hall of the Society of Arts, at the Adelphi, where it 
is practically applied.” 


[Investors’ Guardian, August 19, 1871.] 

“ If any one were to say to the passenger in Threadneedle Street, 
gazing admiringly on the Val de Travers pavement, that it was within 
his power to cover the walls of his house with the finest marbles—if 
lie be a man of wealth—or if a tradesman, decorate the front of his 
shop with a classically-beautiful ornamentation, at no greater price per 
yard than that at which theVal.de Travers stuff is laid down, viz., 
about a shilling a foot ; he, a stranger to the manufacture of Marezzo 
Marble, and what has been done by it, and at what trifling cost, would 
feel inclined to deny the assertion, considering himself as still liable to 
the tasteful ignorance of the painter and the grainer for his walls, his 
halls, his corridors, his chambers of reception, his ball-rooms, his pil¬ 
lars, pilasters, sau\ fagade. 

“Nevertheless, whoever may come within the entrance-lialls of the 
Society of Arts’ House, in the Adelphi—a place that should be oftener 
visited by all of us, and a society worthy of more universal and more 
generous support—will see marble panels of violet vein, with Bardiglio 
mouldings, bordered by rich antique jasper, and with Egyptian green 
skirtings, an arched doorway, also of Bardiglio marble, with chimney- 
piece and ornamentation for clock included (we quote the professional 
description of the Builder), all of Marezzo Marble, ‘ the effect of the 
whole harmonizing with the mosaic pavement, and the result a very 
handsome apartment.’ All this has been up nearly four years. Let it 
be contrasted with the costly, but less beautiful, marbling of the 
Foreign Office hall and staircase, and the man of true taste will give 
the preference to the Marezzo. 

“ This manufactured marble, which can be executed to any shape or 
size (within ordinary use), from a table to a chimney-piece, and from a 
column to a tombstone—or rather we should say a monument—is a 
cheap substitute for marble, while it is its equal in elegance, durability 
and resistance to atmospheric influences. If it cost twice or even thrice 




32 


the price of painting or graining on a staircase, or outside a house, it 
has the advantage, nevertheless, of not fading decaying or requiring 
renewal. A little water at any time will restore its brilliancy, and it 
shines bright and polished, when only clean, as a schoolboy’s face after 
his soap and water, on a summer holiday morning. 

“ The Marezzo Marble is, moreover, capable of all colors, whether of 
the cheapest or the costliest of marbles—the vert antique , the jaune 
fleuri, the griotte, the charming breche violette, the sunliglited Sienna, 
or the ruddy warmth of the glowing Imbel, the brightest and the noblest 
of Spanish marbles. For elegance of color and delicacy of tint, a speci¬ 
men now at our office, two feet square (which we saw made at the fac¬ 
tory on Thursday last in five minutes ), will be pronounced by the con¬ 
noisseur unrivalled. 

“ It must be remembered that this Marezzo Marble is not alone 
beautiful, but it is also cheap ; that it is easily manufactured, without 
heavy or expensive machinery, from materials of small cost, with com¬ 
paratively little labor—much less than that of making, melting, grind¬ 
ing, and polishing glass ; that it is applicable to all the uses of ordinary 
life—as slabs, chimney-pieces, washing-stands and tables ; and, there¬ 
fore, will be an article always in call.” 


\The Architect, August 14, I860.] 

“ It is a method by which all kinds of marbles may be imitated with 
speed and accuracy ; the durability, strength, and economy of the pro¬ 
duct being also great recommendations. The new marble has a tine 
polish ; the color and veining are perfect ; its varieties know no limit 
but that of nature ; it can be made up into any shape, as chimney-pieces, 
pilasters, columns, skirtings, mouldings, panels, &c. ; and it competes 
with scagliola, in that its use is wider, imitating all marbles. 

“ The use of some worthy substitute for marble has long been a de¬ 
sideratum, as the expense of the real material is so great, when prop¬ 
erly worked up into all the requirements demanded of it, that it can not 
be indulged in by other than the wealthy. Henceforth, true taste in 
middling circumstances will be able to realise its desires, equally with 
high art in the most sumptuous palace. To architects and builders this 
new invention will afford the means of rich decoration, hitherto in 
many cases unattainable. We lately had an opportunity of visiting a 
mansion at South Kensington, where large quantities of Marezzo are 
being used. Along the sides of nearly the whole of the magnificent 
winding staircase, panels of various marbles are laid on, the imitation 
being so true as to deceive the eye and finger of the initiated—indeed, 
the only tell-tale is the cement back ; but this being hidden after fixing, 
the illusion is complete and decided. Throughout, the processes are 
those of highly-skilled hand labor.” 



[The Builder, July 11, 1868.] (Third Notice.) 

■‘The entrance-hall of the house of the Society of Arts, in the Adel- 
phi, has been lined from floor to ceiling, including skirting, wall-cover 
ing, and cornice, with this new material—Marezzo Marble. It is some¬ 
what similar in appearance to scagliola, as we have had occasion to ob¬ 
serve when describing it on a previous occasion ; but its application ap¬ 
pears to be more extensive, it takes a good polish, and is said to be 
moderate in cost. 

“ The decoration of the Society of Arts consists of panels of violet 
vein, with Bardiglio mouldings, bordered by rich antique jasper, and 
with Egyptian green skirtings. The soffit of the arched doorway, to 
the left of the entrance, is executed in one piece, representing a beauti¬ 
ful formation of Bardiglio marble. The chimney piece and ornamenta¬ 
tion of the clock are included. The effect of the whole harmonizes with 
the mosaic pavement, and the result is a very handsome apartment.” 


[Building News, April 3, 1868.] 

“We have recently seen specimens of Marezzo Marble, and there can 
be no doubt about its utility and beauty for the ornamentation of build¬ 
ings. Its close imitation of marble is surprising. Unlike scagliola, it 
is made of cement, but fibre being mixed into the material, makes it 
strong, capable of receiving hard blows without being broken, and ren¬ 
ders it more easily moved from place to place. It can be made to any 
size. Any kind of marble can be imitated and executed, with such a 
finish that it requires a well trained eye to distinguish it from the 
genuine article. It can be applied to a variety of forms, such as panels, 
mouldings, chimney-pieces, columns, &c. It is enduring, and not sub¬ 
ject to discoloration by its close contiguity to jets of gas The cost of 
material is much cheaper than any other imitation of marble.” 


[Builders’ Weekly Reporter , February 22, 1868.] 

“ Among recent improvements and inventions for the ornamentation 
of buildings we have no hesitation in placing Patent Marezzo Marble in 
the foremost rank. The progress of taste can offer no better proof than 
the success which this invention has met with since its introduction. 
Its merits were brought prominently before the Society of British Archi¬ 
tects at their opening meeting in November last. 

“ At the Show Booms can be seen some remarkably fine specimens of 
this new marble— for to the eye and touch it has all the appearance 
of the genuine article. One of the chimney-pieces, a perfect imitation 
of jasper marble, is, indeed, a very beautiful work of art. 

“As a perfect substitute for marble, the Patent Marezzo supplies a 
want long felt by architects, decorators, and builders, in the ornamenta¬ 
tion of principal rooms, corridors, and halls of public buildings. Its 
application can be seen in the corridor of the Gray’s Inn Chambers, IIol- 




34 


born. It is intended to decorate the entrances to the Society of Arts’ 
House, Adelplii, with this Marezzo.” 


\_Bullionist, July 6, 1872.] 

“The works in operation in this country have already been doubled 
in size, and so great a demand for further production lias arisen, that a 
further enlargement is necessary to do justice to the business offering. 
It is not at all surprising to find the requirements for a material so capa¬ 
ble of appliance in decorative work should have surpassed the provisions 
made for its supply. It needs but to be seen to be appreciated, and, 
when its cheapness is considered, there can be little doubt that a lasting 
and profitable business can be secured by the commonest attention to 
the rules of commercial progress. Marezzo Marble is an artificial re¬ 
production of the effects of the most esteemed colored marbles. It may 
be applied on flat surfaces, and is also capable of moulding into an in¬ 
finite variety of forms and patterns representing carved work, and de¬ 
signs of every description, with truthful sharpness and fidelity. The 
architect and the decorator will find a new ally in their most daring 
designs, while an article that can be used for a paper-weight or a 
palace staircase will be sure to attract the attention of the artist. It is 
capable of transmitting the forms and ideas of genius down to the latest 
posterity as faithfully as the Greek marbles have brought down the 
works of Phidias for our admiration thousands of years after they 
were sculptured by the hands of the great master.” 


[.Huddersfield Examiner, July 6, 1872.] 

“Marezzo Marble. —It would be a mere waste of words for us to 
recapitulate what has been already said by architects, and artists of un¬ 
disputed talent, touching the new invention known under the name of 
Marezzo Marble. Its best eulogium is to be found in the terse and 
pithy phrase of Mr. Morton Edvmrds, Secretary of the Society of 
Sculptors of England, when he spoke of it as ‘ an invention tin t may be 
used for a paper-weight or a palace staircase and as a proof of the 
extraordinary facility with which it may be made to serve the finest 
specimens of art, we need but refer to the magnificent fountain now ad¬ 
joining the interior of the Dublin Exhibition, made to the order of Sir 
Arthur Guinness, Bart., which has elicited the admiration of all con¬ 
noisseurs. From the tests this substance has already undergone, it 
would seem that its durability is put beyond the possibility of a doubt, 
and its cheapness is a patent fact for which figures vouch. It is sur¬ 
prising, but nevertheless true, that the manufacture of this patent 
marble is a process remarkably inexpensive when we take into considera¬ 
tion the marvellous results attained. A resume of the modus operandi 
may not be devoid of interest to our readers. A large sheet of plate 
glass having been laid on a table, a skein of tangled silk, soaked in 




35 




coloring matter and knotted at tlie ends, is drawn ont in a sort of rough 
rectangular form, the rectangle being crossed in all directions by tlie 
tangled threads. The skeins are formed so as to represent the different 
veinings and colors of the marble. A certain portion of Keene’s cement 
is then dashed on to the silk, and after two or three sprinklings, the 
silk is withdrawn and the marble is virtually made. However, other 
coatings of cement are applied, then a layer of coarse canvas is laid on; 
next comes a thick backing of coarse cement, and this is left on the 
glass to dry, after which the marble is turned off to be polished and cut 
into blocks, &c. The high price of real marble has been often a 
stumbling block to those who otherwise would have been very glad to 
give to their house-front the improving, and at the same time elegant, 
appearance that this substance imparts in so eminent a degree. How¬ 
ever, intellect and enterprise have trampled under foot this, as it has 
many other obstacles, and now marble—or at least what comes to the 
same thing—a material as good in form, color, and durability, has been 
found which bids fair to change the appearance of more than one great 
city. It has been often remarked that the buildings of Paris have a 
certain sameness about them, a defect which will soon be obviated by the 
use of this material.” 


[.Eastern Morning News, July 3, 1872.] 

“ The cheapness, durability, and beauty of Marezzo Marble being now 
put beyond any doubt, we are glad to perceive that the benefits of this 
invention are about to be extended to France^ London has been often 
styled a city of bricks, whilst Paris was, up to a very recent date, the 
city of stone. But though in many instances the carvings wrought, 
whether on the facades or in the court-yards of Parisian hotels, were of 
more than ordinary neatness of execution, the eye was very soon 
fatigued by the unbroken line of white. It was a great relief to find a 
slab of marble here and there to break the sameness, but these were 
but as rare oases in the desert. Latterly, French artists and builders 
found themselves called on to provide structures more cooformable to 
the public taste, and marble was used by them, but owing to its high 
price, in rather scant proportions. 

“The Marezzo Marble having turned up, will now be used by them 
plentifully, and the great desideratum—richness and variety—will be 
attained. Experience proves that the artificial marble is in every wise 
equal, and for practical purposes superior, to the real article. It can be 
manufactured speedily, and at trifling cost. It possesses the polish, 
richness of tone, and variety of tinting, of the original substance, and 
the fact of its being counterfeit cannot be detected by the most practised 


eve. 



[ Weekly Hampshire Independent, July 6, 1872. J 

“ Another invention is announced in our columns, and we suspect 
that among the many useful discoveries of the age Marezzo Marble will 
take a foremost place. The great esteem in which it is held by those 
connected with the building profession, far from being exaggerated, is, 
we are assured, but the result of the many tests to which it has 
been subjected, and from which it has issued bearing a new cachet of 
excellence.” 


[.Middlesex Mercury, July 6 , 1872.] 

“ Visitors to the Society of Arts, the Dublin Exhibition and other 
places, will have observed the innumerable artistic purposes to which the 
manufactured Marezzo Marble has been applied; and so highly has its use 
been appreciated, that a demand for its production in France and on the 
Continent has followed as a matter of course. In all architectural and 
other works, where marble only has hitherto been used, the Marezzo is 
competing so admirably that the imitation cannot be detected, except to a 
very practised observer; and as a material so beautiful and comparatively 
inexpensive, will doubtless take the place of so much of the costly 
granite and marble now generally used for decorative purposes; that a 
large demand for its production exists there is no question.” 


[Iron Times, July 6, 1872.] 

“ The Marezzo Marble is one of the most useful, as it is the prettiest 
and most admirable (in its artistic possibilities) of the inventions of the 
period. The beautiful ornamentation of vari-colored marbles in the 
halls and staircases of our houses, from the mansion to the 8-roomed 
villa, has hitherto been inaccessible, as well from the weight of the 
material as its costliness. But any individual of moderate means may 
now indulge the finest taste, whether in the sun-lighted Sienna of 
Naples, or the ruddy Isabel of Spain, the vert antique, the griotte, or the 
charming breche violette. All are at liis command, in slabs or chimney- 
pieces, tables or pilasters, a washing-stand or a monumental tomb, 
inside the house or outside of it; for, although bearing the most 
exquisite polish, it is not liable to atmospheric influences, however 
exposed, since, however stained or accidentally discolored, that ‘cheap 
resource/ to use the words of Shakspeare, 

• A sponge will wipe out all, and cost you nothing!’ 

“The price is little over a shilling a foot—no more than we pay for 
the asphalte under our feet; but the ‘ beauty is a joy forever.’ 

“Already, within the last two years, since the institution of the 
English Company, the Marezzo Marble has been largely adopted in 
public buildings and private mansions. It may be seen in the entrance- 
hall of the Society of Arts, at Stanhope Gardens, and most places of 
public exhibitions. The consequence lias been a large amount of orders. 




37 


which the works of the Company, already doubled, are kept in con¬ 
stant employ.” 


[The London Mirror, July 6, 1872.] 

“ M arezzo Marbles. —Such is the name given to a new material 
for decorative purposes, produced by a company whose prospectus is 
now before the public, and whose object is to purchase the right to 
manufacture and sell the Marezzo Marble in France. Marble, from its 
beautiful veining, its close grain, and that hardness which renders it 
capable of receiving the highest polish, has always held a foremost 
place in decorative building stone ; but then the scarcity of the material, 
and the enormous expenditure of labor involved in its workmanship, 
have operated as a barrier to its use except to that very limited extent 
when ‘ money is no object.’ What the late Prince Consort called ‘the 
restless ingenuity of man,’ has therefore long been at work to produce 
a substitute of sufficient excellence to pass current for marble, and yet 
capable of being supplied at a considerably reduced cost. The nearest 
attempt made in this direction, until recently, was ‘scagliola,’ which, 
for some years, has been applied both architecturally and sculptorially, 
but it is expensive, and even in its very best state is but a poor repre¬ 
sentative of the real article. 

“ The Marezzo Marble is an invention which is intended to popu¬ 
larize the use of imitative marble for in-door and out-door decorative 
purposes, and its introduction certainly promises to supply a void which 
has long existed. The process of manufacture is remarkable for its 
simplicity, considering the high results produced. On a slab of plate 
glass are spread skeins of silk, saturated with the dyes representing the 
colors and forms of the veins in the kind of marble to be imitated, and 
upon this is sprinkled a cement in a semi-liquidized state, to a thickness 
of about the eighth of an inch. This being left until it is thoroughly 
impregnated with the dyes, the silk is removed. More of the cement 
is then added, until the slab becomes of the required thickness, when 
it is left to dry for about'twelve hours, after which it is lifted from the 
glass, and is then ready for the polisher. A few days since a private 
exhibition of the process of manufacture was held, and was attended by 
a number of architects, district-surveyors, builders, sculptors, and other 
professional and practical men, who expressed their unqualified admira¬ 
tion of the new material, and their opinion of its adaptability to all 
purposes of internal building decorations, such as wall-lining, flooring, 
chimney-pieces, columns, pedestals, cornices, and also to statuary, 
fountains, and other out-door ornaments. During the visit, two slabs 
of Marezzo Marble—each about five feet square—one of Sienna, and the 
other of the wliite-veined kind—were begun, and were ready for the 
polisher in less than three-quarters of an hour. Consequent on the 
rapidity of its manufacture, the cost of Marezzo Marble is about one- 
tenth that of real marble, and one-fifth that of scagliola, for plain work, 



while as regards marble in cornices, capitals, statuary, and other works 
of ornamentation, the difference is much greater, inasmuch as the 
material is all worked in a semi-fluid state. The invention is altogether 
a most valuable one.” 


[The Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, July 5,1872.] 

“ SnouLD Macaulay’s well-known New Zealander betake himself to 
Paris, after having sketched out a history of the rise and fall of what 
we style the ‘ Modern Babylon,’ from his commanding position on the 
arch of London Bridge, he will probably be not a little surprised to find 
that at a certain epoch the two great nations of Europe—France and 
England—patronised with common accord, for their public buildings, a 
certain substance, quarries of which never existed in either country. 
Should he take the trouble of analysing the material, he will find it to 
be a composition made to represent marble; and if he be an honest critic, 
he will no doubt say something peculiarly flattering about the inventive 
genius of the men of the nineteenth century. Seriously speaking, there 
are few inventions that reflect so much credit on the age as that known 
under the name of Marezzo Marble. Like everything good it is pre-emi¬ 
nently simple, and will undoubtedly attain a world-wide popularity. 
The most distinguished ediles have pronounced upon its utility, and the 
most experienced chemists have pledged themselves to its durability. 
Every day new gems of artistic beauty are composed entirely of it, and 
when the Dublin Exhibition was opened, the magnificent fountain in 
Marezzo Marble that adorns the nave was unanimously declared a mas¬ 
terpiece. All that is rich, beautiful, and varied in marbles, can be re¬ 
produced with marvellous accuracy by means of this unrivalled imita¬ 
tion, and it bids fair to become one of the most charming handmaidens 
of art. One of its greatest advantages is its cheapness, and the rapidity 
with which it can be prepared for use in nearly every size, shape, or 
form. It far exceeds anything as yet offered to the public, scagliola and 
enamelled slate falling far into the shade by the side of it. It has 
caused a sensation among the building profession of Paris.” 


[Bath Chronicle, July 4, 1872.] 

“We observe that a concern has been started for the purpose of fur¬ 
thering on a large scale the use of Marezzo Marble in all the great 
buildings of the Continent. No material, it is stated, could be better 
adapted to meet the requirements of French architects. For palatial 
residences, the facades of public buildings, or those of the large 
magasins on the boulevards, the Marezzo Marble will be an invaluable 
agent. Decent events have opened up a large field for its use, as well 
in the construction of new edifices as in the restoration of others partially 
destroyed. Eminent foreign architects fully agree in the verdict so 




39 


unanimously passed on tlie Marezzo Marble by those in our own country 
best competent to judge of its merits, and we learn from their testimonies 
that the counterfeit is in every way equal to the real article.” . 


[Civilian, July 6, 1872.] 

“The extraordinary cheapness, and the facility of application which 
renders this material so adaptable in architectural art, secures the inven¬ 
tion a favorable introduction ; and as this description of marble has been 
extensively adopted in France, as well as in England, there appears to 
be a wide field for its successful reception. The distinguishing feature 
of this patent is the rapidity with which imitative blocks of every kind 
of marble are produced, embodying in the substance itself perfect fac 
similes of the choicest varieties of marble, bearing an exquisite polish, 
and quite equal to the most costly foreign marbles, for which they are 
constantly mistaken, from their brilliant similarity to nature and 
elegance of appearance. While it is also stated the blocks can be 
moulded, sawn, or dressed into any conceivable shape, their capability 
of resisting the effects of heat, cold, or damp, is an additional illustration 
of their commercial value. It is ascertained, from careful estimates 
that have been made, that the profits will be necessarily considerable, 
and as the materials are cheap, and no expensive machinery required, 
the undertaking claims favorable police of the public.” 


[English Independent, July 4, 1872.] 

“ The Marezzo Marble, manufactured under a patented process, is 
spoken of by the papers which are authorities in regard to building and 
decorative materials, as well adapted to supplant the natural marbles of 
every kind in point of effect, and, by its comparatively small cost, 
largely to find favor for purposes of ornamentation. The marble is 
manufactured with astonishing speed, in every conceivable shape.” 


[Asiatic, July 5, 1872.] 

“ For building there is probably, all things considered, nothing like 
stone, and of the various kinds of stone suitable for architectural pur- 
• poses the best is marble. At once in the highest degree a utility no less 
than a luxury, it is only the costliness of marble that has hitherto pre¬ 
vented its universal application to at least the adornment of public and 
private buildings. Elsewhere we publish particulars of the Anglo- 
French Marezzo Marble Company, formed for the purpose of purchasing 
and working the valuable patent for the manufacture and sale of Marezzo 
Marble in France. The product of this manufacture is by no means ex¬ 
perimental; the Marezza Marble already adorns a number of English 
mansions and public buildings, and has been pronounced by the highest 





40 


architectural authorities to be at once strong, durable, and easy of mani¬ 
pulation; while in the brilliancy of its appearance the very finest natural 
marbles are fully equalled. Paradoxical as it may seem, the Marezzo 
Marble is in some respects better than natural marble, as it is in every 
way equal to it. Capable of being sawn, dressed, and polished ad libitum, 
repelling the ravages of heat, cold, and damp, this admirable substitute 
for the queen of stones is much more manageable, and can, when frac¬ 
tured, be repaired without leaving a trace behind of the lesion. It is ap¬ 
plicable to every possible form of domestic and public architecture; its 
price is about a tenth that of the natural marble it so successfully rivals, 
and half that even of enamelled slate. At the same time the lightness 
of the new material is productive of very considerable economy in car¬ 
riage and erection. At the Dublin Exhibition there is now a very beau¬ 
tiful fountain, on a colossal scale, built of Marezzo Marble, and exciting 
the admiration not only of architects but also of artists. The material 
itself is cheap, the production rapid and very economical, and the 
demand is practically unlimited.” 


[Northern Whig, Belfast, July 3, 1872.] 

“Marezzo Marble lias been very much used in erecting pilasters, 
columns, pedestals consoles, skirtings, mouldings, &c., and is said to 
have answered admirably. Egyptian green, Irish green, vert-vei't, jaune 
fleuri , and griotte, have been imitated, we are informed, with consider¬ 
able success.” 


[Financier, July 3, 1872.] 

“ The invention is stated to be admirably adapted to French, and 
especially Parisian requirements, so many buildings having to be re-con¬ 
structed and re-decorated. The manufacture is stated to be speedy, 
‘ embodying in the substance itself perfect facsimiles of the choicest 
varieties of marble, bearing an exquisite polish, quite equal to the most 
costly foreign marbles, for which they are constantly mistaken.’ It 
appears that they can be moulded, sawn, and dressed, are suitable for 
most elaborate work, are strong and durable, and may be readily 
repaired. For inlaid and decorative work the Marezzo is stated to be 
a ‘ superb material,’ and it can be sold at a profit at one-tentli the cost of 
the higher classes of natural marble, and at half the cost of enamelled 
slate.” 


[ Investors’ Guardian, July 6, 1872.] 

“ Marezzo Marble is largely in use, and is highly approved of for 
building and decorative purposes ; the raw material is very cheap, and 
the manufacture inexpensive, not requiring any large outlay in plant or 
machinery. 





41 


“ There is no doubt that the Marezzo Marble is a valuable material, 
in growing estimation, and the prospectus quotes from the Press highly 
laudatory paragraphs in which it has been approved of.” 


[Cheltenham Examiner, July 3, 1872. ] 

“ This material, manufactured at a trifling cost and with the simplest 
assistance from a substance which is found all over the world, has all 
the appearance of genuine marble, and would deceive even experienced 
judges. It is as hard and as durable as real marble, at about a tenth of 
the price of the better qualities. It is said to have been submitted to a 
most crucial experiment, with hot and cold water, by Mr. Jennings, an 
eminent sanitary engineer, of Lambeth, who uses it extensively for 
baths. The great fountain of the Dublin Exhibition, lately opened by 
H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, is made of Marezzo Marble, and forms 
a lasting monument to its excellence.” 


, [Daily Recorder, July 6, 1872.] 

“ The rapidly-increasing art culture of the nation, despite its won¬ 
derful accretion of wealth, has resulted in such a rise in the price of 
marble (always an almost indispensable material in elegant architecture) 
that any good substitute for the article is sure to be hailed with satis¬ 
faction. Hence the success attendant on the operations of the Company 
for manufacturing Marezzo Marble in England is not in any way 
surprising, and the proposition to take France into the field of operations 

is one recommending itself greatly to the investing public. 

The favorable opinion expressed by both the general and the technical 
Press augurs exceedingly well for the future of the concern.” 


[The Art Journal, September, 1872.] 

“ Marezzo Marbles. —The above name has been given to an inven¬ 
tion which promises to do good service in the way of mural and piece 
decoration in halls, staircases, galleries, public buildings, and in a 
variety of other directions. In all such propositions the two great 
considerations are appearance and cost, and in this case these are met 
and satisfactorily disposed of. The promising character of this really 
beautiful production was mentioned in the Art Journal a few years ago, 
with an entire anticipation of that success which has attended the pro 
gress of its application as a medium of elegant domestic embellishment. 
The curious exactitude of the veining and surface is beyond all sus¬ 
picion of the most cunning legerdemain of artistic handling; hence is 
the mystery at once adverted to, in order to explain the extreme sim¬ 
plicity of production. No inspection, however cunning, of the surface 
or vein would lead an inquirer even near to the rationale of the process. 





42 


The most skillful expert in designed and manipulated forms and patterns 
would never dream of tlie means of obtaining surfaces that run side by 
side with Nature, and which are only suspected of being factitious on 
account of their superior delicacy and the beauty and variety of their 
colors. As in very many other valuable discoveries, the means of pro¬ 
duction is in principle singularly simple; indeed, any description of it 
reads like that of a not very ingenious trick; yet there is in its execution 
a great proportion of the chic of Art, insomuch that an educated hand 
and a cultivated taste are indispensable. 

“ To advert briefly to the manufacture : the base of operations is a 
form of plate glass, on which is cast a skein of silk saturated with the 
, color required, and disposed in imitation of the vein of the marble to be 
produced. The silk is then covered with a coat of cement, say Keene’s, 
to the depth of an eighth of an inch ; and while the cement is yet wet, 
the .silk is removed by being drawn up through the cement, to which, 
in transitu, it imparts color. The veining of the marble, therefore, as 
a rule, runs one eighth of an inch deep ; but the process shows that it 
may be of any moderate depth. In order to preserve and consolidate 
the veined surface, it is backed with ordinary cement to the substance, 
it may be, of half an inch ; and when the mass is dry, it is removed 
from the glass, irregularities are rubbed down, and, the surface having 
been polished by hand, it presents the appearance of the finest marble. 

“ Such in brief is the means of producing an imitation of a natural 
material, which, in all ages of the world, has been held in high estima¬ 
tion ; the only limit to its extensive use being the dificulty and expense 
of procuring and working it. We have seen it, as yet, only as little 
more than an architectural enrichment, but the perfection of the repro¬ 
duction is surprising. This and the delicacy of the veining would sug¬ 
gest a very costly material; whereas it is the object of the Company to 
popularize it, so as to bring it into ordinary use. 

‘ ‘ From wliat has been said about the method of production, it will 
readily be understood there is no marble surface that cannot be imitated, 
and the cement is susceptible of any color. The marbles which are ex¬ 
hibited on the premises of the Company, are Egyptian, Sienna, Verd 
Antique, Jaune fieurie, Griotte, Irish Green, Rose fleurie, Rouge Royal, 
Isabel, Breche Violette, granites, and any variety of fancy marbles. 
Among the objects shown are panels for halls and staircases, columns, 
pedestals, brackets, cornices, and fireplaces complete with mantlepieces, 
and mounted with variously colored marbles. The panels are bordered 
with marbles of different colors, the combination of some producing a 
charming effect. Ornamented tables are also constructed of any color, 
and bordered with much taste ; and to descend to the more common 
household utilities, it is impossible to assign a limit to its applicability, 
although it may not be desirable to enter into competition with ordi¬ 
nary manufacture. 

“ Allusion has been made, hitherto, only to flat and round forms, such 
as would genenally enter into architectural enrichment, and these are 


43 


produced at a cost having reference to the general tariff, and greatly be¬ 
low that of marble. The consideration of the ordinary tendencies of 
the invention suggests in how far it might be made available in florid 
and ornamental Art ; for it cannot be believed that the efforts of the 
Company will be limited to flat and cylindrical productions, while they 
operate with a medium so practical as cement. The observations we 
are about to make are suggested by a bracket, one of the objects shown, 
which of course is a stock form, and continually repeat 3d. It may be 
argued that florid or personal composition is not the purpose of the 
Company, which is commercial—that the profits accruing in that direc¬ 
tion are more worthy of their attention than those derivable from the 
execution of Fine Art designs. Such may be the present views of the 
proprietors of the invention ; but it cannot be thought that the material 
of such varied susceptibility will be confined to its present limited 
range of usefulness. It may not be expedient to undertake subjects in 
the round and in high relief ; but from what we have seen executed in 
cornices and other projecting forms, we conceive that no great difficulty 
would attend the production of bas relief compositions which, to certain 
surfaces, would give a richness and beauty scarcely to be surpassed by 
the trophies of the chisel. 

“ It will be understood, from the brief account given of the manufac¬ 
ture, that the surprising cheapness of the material is but a natural con¬ 
sequence of the rapidity and facility of its manufacture. When the 
question is merely that of the production of blocks or tiles for the most 
ordinary purposes of embellishment, nothing can be more simple than 
the process of working. Indeed, a result so brilliant with so much of 
the reality of nature strikes even the most ingenious intelligence with 
wonder, its principle excluding it from the range of scientific research. 
Such is the ready adaptability of these ordinary block and Hat forms, 
that they may (as we are informed by the prospectus of the Company) 
be moulded, dressed, polished, and sawn into every conceivable shape. 
They may be bordered by elaborate mouldings and ornamental forms of 
great strength, beauty, and delicacy of outline. In canvassing the sub 
stance and durability of the material, one anxious question will always 
be raised—that is, with regard to its capability of resisting the effects 
of exposure to the vicissitudes of climate ; and on this point we are as¬ 
sured that it resists the effects of exposure to heat, cold, and damp, as 
perfectly as natural marble, besides being more manageable and easy of 
application. There is also a remarkable advantage which the material 
possesses over marble, which must be admitted to be of no inconsider¬ 
able value—that is, the facility with which injuries can be repaired. In 
sculptures in marble, fractures are irreparable ; and hence a strong 
argument in favor of the employment, for ordinary purposes, of an arti¬ 
cle which is cheap to begin with, and easily kept in good condition. 

“Marezzo Marble offers itself as a means of decoration accredited 
with the very best testimonials. In speaking thus favorably of it, we 
have no other view than that by which we have been actuated in our 


> 


notices of so many valuable inventions that recommend themselves by 
their own merits. {Surfaces laid down in Marezzo Marble can be en¬ 
riched by the most beautiful designs in inlaid work ; or, if it may be so 
described, marble marqueterie, which, were it even practicable in mar¬ 
ble, would be so costly as to place it far beyond the means save of the 
very affluent few. On the other hand, this medium claims popularity 
on the score of its being admirably adapted for the embellishment of 
private residences, public buildings, Government offices, railway sta¬ 
tions, hotels, banks, churches, &c., for the formation of columns, 
mouldings, cornices, borders, panels, pilasters, brackets, tables, slabs, 
pavements, and for covering all spaces which are now so wretchedly 
occupied by badly painted imitations of marbles. 

“ The Marezzo Marble is as yet but little known ; but if it be asked 
to what extent it has already been patronized, reference may be made 
to various public buildings and works, as the entrance hall of the So¬ 
ciety of Arts, in the Adelphi; the Collossal Fountain, a very attractive 
object at the Dublin Exhibition, just opened by the Duke of Edinburgh ; 
Gray’s Inn Chambers ; the mansions of Sir Richard Wallace, of the 
Hon. F. Cadogan, Baron Worms, Kniglitsbridge ; Hingliam Hall, East 
Dereham ; the Memorial Synagogue at Rochester, &c. 

The description we give of the principle of the manufacture shows 
that for the production of the material no expensive and complicated 
machinery is necessary ; that, in short, it is the result of a handicraft 
depending for its perfection on experienced manipulation. Hence, in 
this direction there is no investment to enhance the market cost of the 
product, and the raw material is always at hand and very cheap. Un¬ 
der such favorable circumstances, a very large manufacture can be 
carried on at one-fourth of the cost which would be necessary for the 
maintenance of other establishments of equal magnitude. The only 
speciality in the working is what may be described as the skilled labor, 
and a small proportion of this represents a large amount of production, 
as the sawing, dressing, polishing, &c., are all so far mechanical as to 
require but little skill in their accomplishment. 

“ The selling price is only about one tenth of the higher priced mar 
bles, and about one-half of that of Scagliola, enamelled slate, or other 
imitations, and in many cases even less than the cost of skillful graining 
and wood imitation. 

“ Although so much is to be said in commendation of Marezzo Mar- 
ble, the most cursory examination of the material itself would suggest 
more than can be said. It is enough to observe that there could be no 
hesitation in choosing between the wretched imitations of woods and 
marbles which everywhere offend a cultivated taste, and a cheap imita¬ 
tion of marble so brilliant and perfect in surface and vein as almost to 
defeat the inquiries of an expert. 


See also London Daily Telegraph, November 30, 18G7 ; Builder, De¬ 
cember 14, 1867; Weekly Times, December 22, 1867 ; British Trade 



45 


Journal, June, 1868; Leeds and Midland Counties Advertiser, January, 
1869 ; Oxford Times, 1G, 18G9 ; Stock Exchange Review, Janu¬ 

ary, 1872 ; Iron Times, January 20, 1872 ; Investors’ Guardian, July 6, 
1872 ; Financier, July 3, 1872 ; Art Journal, September, 1872 ; Asiatic, 
July 5, 1872 ; Bullionist, July G, 1872 ; Engineer, May 31, 1872 ; Daily 
JYews, May 25, 1872; Mechanic’s Magazine, June 8, 1872; Times, July 
6, 1872 ; Dublin Daily Express, July G, 1872, &c., &c. 

Marezzo Marbles seem to be rapidly growing into favor in tlie United 
States, for Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago are following the example 
of New York and organizing influential companies to establish manu¬ 
factories in those cities for producing these beautiful marbles at a sur¬ 
prisingly low cost and with a handsome margin of profit. 


[From the London Graphic, July 20, 1872.] 

FOUNTAIN OF MAREZZO MARBLE AT THE DUBLIN EXHIBITION. 

The beautiful fountain in the nave of the Dublin Exhibition is made 
of a newly invented material called Marezzo Marble, and is one of the 
handsomest and most interesting objects which the building contains. 
Its enclosing rim consists of curves of contrary flexure, with four circu¬ 
lar granite bases equi distant, on which recline negro figures bearing 
ornamental lamps. Within the rim at either side of the basin stands a 
group of four storks amid water plants, and supporting a basin, from 
which there springs a sprite or Naiad child bearing a tuft of shamrock 
containing an ornamental water, jet. In the centre of the fountain there 
is a group rising to a height of about twenty feet above the floor. 
Arouud the base of this group there are four figures, emblematic of the 
four provinces of Ireland, each seated on a nautilus, with sails set and 
extended oars. The base carries a large ornamental basin rising above 
the figures already described, and through the basin there passes a shaft, 
around which descending serpents are coiled. The group is crowned by 
a figure of St. Patrick trampling under foot a toadstool, and banishing 
the serpents from the soil. The rim is composed of violet vein marble, 
the central shaft of a splendidly rich Irish green. The basins are of 
Italian marble ; the serpent coiled round the shaft is of Egyptian green, 
and the figures, nautilus shells, and sails, are in tints closely approach¬ 
ing those of nature, and producing an imposing effect. The fountain 
can be brilliantly illuminated by strong jets of oxyhydrogen or lime¬ 
light, and an arrangement for lighting under the water produces a very 
remarkable effect. The chief interest, however, is in the material of 
which the structure is composed. It is called the Patent Marezzo Mar¬ 
ble, and is in fact an artificial marble, which is so close an imitation of 
the natural that by the touch only can the difference be detected. 
Perfect fac-similies of all the different varieties of natural marbles can 
be produced, the colors being blended and veined through the whole 
thickness and depth, as in marble itself, not merely on the surface. It 
can be sawn, dressed, and polished, equal to the very finest and most 
costly marble. The discovery is scarcely more than four years old, but 
the new material has already been used in th.e entrance-liall of the So¬ 
ciety of Arts, Adelphi ; tlie columns of the Memorial Synagogue, 
Rochester ; the corridor of Gray’s Inn Chambers, Holborn, and in many 
private mansions. The New General Post Office, now in course of erec¬ 
tion, is to be embellished with it. Its cost is less than one-fourth that 
of natural marble, while it is infinitely less brittle, can be made in any 
size or shape, and may be used as a paper weight, or a palace staircase. 




“ Important to every Householder, Architect, 
Builder, Merchant, Shipper, Railway and other 
Corporation. ” 



PILASTERS. COLUMNS, TABLE-TOPS, die, 


This Material is confidently recommended to the notice of Architects, 
Builders, and others, for its Beauty, Strength, Durability, and extra¬ 
ordinary Cheapness. 

As applied to Lining Walls or Baths, both for sanitary and ornamen¬ 
tal purposes, it will be found to supply a desideratum long desired. 

Slabs accurately representing any kind of Marble, &c., are made any 
shape, size, or thickness required for lining the Walls of Halls, Stair¬ 
cases, Saloons, Bath Rooms Offices, &c. Also Slabs or Panels of self 
colors, in any tint or design, as well as Pilasters, Columns, Skirtings, 
Cornices, &c. 

The Slabs are made ready for fixing on the rough Walls, which 
therefore do not require rendering with plaster ; a great saying is 
hereby effected of time, labor and material. 

Patent Marble is also well adapted for exterior decorations, instead 
of Marble, Plaster, or Graining, for Shop Fronts, Baths, Monuments, 
Altars, Tablets, and for the decoration of Churches, Public Edifices and 
Mansions, Post Offices, Railway Stations, Hotels, Saloons, or Govern¬ 
ment Buildings. 

The prices of Chimney Pieces are considerably under those of enam¬ 
elled slate, “PARTICULARLY FOR HANDSOME DESIGNS.” 

Orders promptly executed, and a fac-simile can be made of any speci¬ 
men of Marble which may be sent for imitation. 

FURTHER PARTICULARS MAY BE HAD OF THE 

U. S. MAREZZO MARBLE COMPANY, 

JACOB BODINE, President. CHAS. S. HILL, Treasurer. 

Office, 90 BROADWAY, Cor. Wall Street, 

New York City. 

,WORKS ALSO AT LONDON, PARIS, BRUSSELS AND BERLIN. 


TERMS. 

All Goods supplied for Cash on delivery. Country orders must be 
accompanied with a remittance, or a satisfactory town reference. 

The Prices are for the goods at the Manufactory. All Fixing is extra. 

The full value of each Case will be found at the foot of each invoice, 
and will be claimed should it not be returned within one month. 

When the Packing Case is returned, a charge is made for the use of 
it only. 









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